The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner is continuing its campaign against Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) in Staffordshire by agreeing to fund a co-ordinator for a further 12 months.
The CSE Co-ordinator will ensure the delivery of an action plan to help continue gathering momentum and enable successful implementation of the Staffordshire CSE Strategy, which aims to prevent, identify and tackle the issue across the county.
Commitment to fund the co-ordinator’s role until March 2019 will be reported at next Monday’s Staffordshire Police and Crime Panel (PCP) meeting at County Buildings in Stafford (2pm).
The panel will also hear of the PCC’s commitment to Catch22, a specialist charity offering a service for victims and potential victims of CSE and children who go missing. This scheme is in conjunction with partners Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire County Council.
The OPCC is also working with Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Staffordshire County Council and the NSPCC to undertake a local audit of ‘Harmful Sexual Behaviour’ using the NSPCC’s nationally recognised framework.
The findings of the audit will be gathered and analysed with a view to identifying gaps and making strategic, commissioning and operational recommendations.
Figures collated by Staffordshire Police suggest the county has a challenge on this front – with 834 CSE victims identified in 2016/17. During the opening two quarters of 2017/18, there have been 568 such cases. However, these could also be reflected by a growing awareness.
Matthew Ellis, Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said: ‘This is an abhorrent crime which is perpetuated more and more using the Internet.
‘A dedicated team from Staffordshire Police are tackling abuse at the very sharp end.
‘But the long term solution to prevent harm is about raising awareness and education which is why I am absolutely committed to continue our campaign against Child Sexual Exploitation.’
**CSE can be a hidden crime. Know About CSE website has been produced to help people recognise the early warning signs of sexual exploitation. For further information please go to http://knowaboutcse.co.uk/**
