CHILD CRIMINAL EXPLOITATION

STRATEGY

2018 - 2020

For the purposes of this strategy North East Lincolnshire utilises the definition of child criminal exploitation

provided by the Home Office:

“Child Criminal Exploitation occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce,

control, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into any criminal activity (a) in exchange for

something the victim needs or wants and/or (b) for the financial or other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator and/

or c) through violence or the threat of violence. The victim may have been criminally exploited even if the activity appears

consensual. Child Criminal Exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use

of technology.”

The criminal exploitation of children includes a combination of:

• Pull factors: children performing tasks for others resulting in them gaining accommodation, food, gifts, status

or a sense of safety, money or drugs; often the hook is through the perpetrator supplying Class B drugs such

as cannabis to the child or young person;

• Push factors: children escaping from situations where their needs are neglected and there is exposure to

unsafe individuals, where there is high family conflict or the absence of a primary attachment figure;

• Control: Brain washing, violence and threats of violence by those exploiting the child particularly when the

child or young person is identified by the police, they are expected to take full responsibility for the offences

for which they are charged – i.e. possession and supply of illegal substances.

Many young people do not recognise that they are being exploited or that they are at risk. The majority of children

who are vulnerable to criminal exploitation are male, however the possibilities of female involvement should

not be dismissed.

It is imperative that in recognising CCE as a priority, it is co-considered alongside children who go missing,

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and modern day slavery as all are intrinsically linked.

Child Criminal Exploitation Strategy 2018-2020

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT PERPETRATORS OF CCE MAY THEMSELVES BE CHILDREN WHO ARE CRIMINALLY EXPLOITED AND THAT THE VICTIMS OF CCE MAY ALSO BE AT RISK OF BECOMING PERPETRATORS.

2 3

ContentIntroduction 6

Mission Statement 7

Key principles 8

Prevention and Early Intervention 10

Children and young people 11

Parental support 11

The role of partner agencies 7

Children’s social care 7

Police 8

National Probation Service (NPS) 8

Support for Looked After Children 9

Young and Safe 9

Health Services 10

Education 10

Voluntary Agencies 11

Foundations 11

CHILD CRIMINAL EXPLOITATION

STRATEGY

2018 - 2020

54

Tackling exploitation is one of the most important challenges currently facing the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB).

It is the responsibility of all partner agencies to identify all children and young people at risk of exploitation in order to prevent them from becoming victims, and it is the responsibility of all partner agencies to protect and safeguard all children and young people who are experiencing exploitation from further harm.

In order to meet this challenge, a shared understanding of the problem and a shared responsibility to proactively address all areas of exploitation is required. This will be achieved by efficient working partnerships between agencies with active coordination by the LSCB, in recognition that the most effective way to tackle this form of child exploitation is via a committed coordinated multi-agency approach, in partnership with children, young people, families and communities.

Partner agencies should focus on the child’s or young person’s needs and recognise the fact that they are not always aware, recognise or acknowledge that they may be in an exploitative situation. A needs-led, child and family centred approach is needed alongside a focused approach towards prevention, early identification and intervention is central whilst proactively targeting, disrupting and prosecuting individuals or groups who seek to exploit children and young people.

There are strong links between children and young people being at risk of exploitation and other behaviours, in particular missing from home or care. Significant evidence highlights that children and young people who go missing from home or care are at increased risk of being at risk of, or experiencing criminal exploitation and or sexual exploitation.

It is therefore essential that all partner agencies act rigorously to reduce incidents of children and young people going missing. In addition, robust efforts to locate a child or young person if known to be missing is required, and once located, agencies must ensure that they have processes in place to assess why a child or young person went missing, what they experienced whilst missing and how any future risk of that child or young person going missing could be reduced.

Agencies have a responsibility to do what they can to prevent children and young people becoming victims of child exploitation. All staff should recognise when a child or young person is involved in or at risk of exploitation as a result of training and by being aware of the vulnerabilities and warning signs and risk indicators and should be aware of what action to take to ensure that the child or young person is appropriately safeguarded.

The local concerns around the presence of county lines activity is one that cannot be ignored in relation to CSE and our strategies around it.

Whilst CSE may not be the driving force in county lines gangs exploiting children, females who are being groomed to hold or move drugs for gangs become more accessible and are therefore at higher risk of exploitation by members or being trafficked to other county locations or entering into relationships with gang members. The link between the two is intrinsic and must be considered together where there is County Lines activity evidenced. North East Lincolnshire recognises this and takes measures to ensure a multi-facetted approach to the two issues.

Introduction

Providing an appropriate response to child criminal exploitation requires the combined efforts and skills of a protective network for children and young people and depends heavily on a multi-agency response.

Their full involvement is vital if children and young people are to be effectively supported and action is to be taken against perpetrators of Child Criminal Exploitation. All agencies should be alert to the risks of child criminal exploitation and be able to take action and work together when an issue is identified.

This joint working is underpinned by:

• A strong commitment from leaders and senior managers with clear lines of accountability

• A clear governance, operational structure and standalone action plan (which is overseen and driven by the LSCB Keeping Children Safe Group) defining the here and now and future plans and is aligned to the LSCB Business Plan

• A clear alignment to the North East Lincolnshire Outcomes Framework showing how the process around reducing the risk of CCE contributes to the outcome that all people in North East Lincolnshire feel safe and are safe. This is clearly detailed within quarterly score cards presented to the Keeping Children Safe Group and LSCB Leadership Board. Outcome Based Accountability is the golden thread throughout all performance in North East Lincolnshire.

• Clear risk management and risk action planning process in tandem with safeguarding policy and practice

• A shared understanding of the problem of child criminal exploitation

• Clear information sharing agreements, protocols and guidance.

• Clear pathways for referral depending on the threshold of need, as per the Child Concern Model.

• Collective training and briefing sessions for all practitioners, elected members and the wider community

• Effective coordination by the LSCB

• A clear communication strategy

• A clear link to the Families First Early Intervention Strategy 2016 – 2018.

The purpose of the strategy is to ensure a local effective and coordinated response to children and young people at risk of CCE which identifies potential risk early and seeks to reduce risk and harm.

To achieve this we will:

• Focus and co-ordinate robust multi-agency resources in relation to the identification intervention and support to those at risk of CCE.

• Produce and implement effective guidance including assessment of risk which supports practitioners in recognising and responding appropriately to CCE.

• Develop and implement CCE training and awareness raising for practitioners.

• Ensure that children and young people and the wider community across North East Lincolnshire, in particular parents and carers, are aware of CCE and its effects.

• Ensure that children, young people and the community are made aware of the issues around exploitation.

• Ensure the CCE strategy is aligned to the Child Sexual Exploitation, Early Intervention, Domestic Abuse, Missing and Neglect strategies.

• Aim to bring to justice the perpetrators of CCE and to ensure that children and young people are properly safeguarded in the course of any proceedings in relation to modern day slavery.

• Capture the child’s voice.

Mission Statement

6 7

Key principlesThe principles underpinning a multi-agency response to child criminal exploitation include:

• Recognition - Criminal exploitation can include sexual, physical and emotional abuse, as well as, in some cases, neglect.

• Children do not make informed choices to enter or remain in exploitative relationships, but do so from coercion, intimidation, violence, enticement, manipulation or desperation.

• CCE covers a range of vulnerabilities which will need differing responses from a range of agencies; it is a multi causal issue that needs to be addressed within a multi-agency approach.

• Locally it is recognised that CCE, county lines activity and Ending Youth Gang Violence issues and CSE are intrinsically linked and are therefore considered in tandem.

• Criminally exploited children and young people should be treated as victims of modern day slavery under the category of forced labour and potentially trafficking and this should be used in mitigation during any criminal proceedings.

• A multi-agency network or risk assessment and management meeting/discussion should take place for all children and young people considered at risk of child criminal exploitation.

Child Protection Procedures should always be followed where:

• The child or young person is at immediate risk of significant harm and/or has other additional vulnerabilities.

• There is concern that the criminal exploitation is being facilitated by the child/young person’s parent/carer.

• There is concern that a related or unrelated adult in a position of trust or responsibility to the child or young person is organising or encouraging the exploitation.

Prevention and Early InterventionThe effects of child criminal exploitation are harmful and far reaching for children and young people and the ultimate aim for the North East Lincolnshire Child Criminal Exploitation Strategy must be to prevent them from being exploited in the first place.

Action to tackle child criminal exploitation should be proactive, focussing on prevention, early identification and intervention, as well as on disrupting activity and prosecuting perpetrators. It is important for cases to be risk managed so that interventions to safeguard children and young people are at the appropriate level according to the risk score. This process also supports and encourages the gathering of evidence to increase the chance of successful criminal prosecutions of their perpetrators, thereby safeguarding potential future victims.

In order to help children and young people achieve good outcomes it is important to identify issues and problems early and to take prompt preventative action. Early intervention is likely to be far more effective than intervention at a later stage when the impact on the child or young person’s health or development is likely to have escalated. Prevention strategies should therefore be regarded as a key part of agencies’ approaches to child criminal exploitation. Early identification that a child or young person is at risk of, or experiencing, exploitation and involving their families early in interventions can be a key step in helping them achieve good outcomes.

Looked after children are particularly vulnerable to child criminal exploitation and going missing from home or care. All care plans will take into account particular risks in relation to individual children.

Children and young people should be provided with preventative education at the earliest opportunity providing them with critical thinking skills and knowledge in relation to safe and healthy relationships. This will help them to avoid situations that put them at risk of child criminal exploitation and know who to turn to if they need advice and support.

8 9

Children and young people

It is paramount that the child or young person is kept at the heart of practice and their voice is heard throughout and that this can be evidenced for the duration of their experience.

Children and young people may become involved for many reasons and commonly they may suffer with low self esteem. This can then make them vulnerable to unwittingly becoming involved in situations which ultimately exploit them. It is very common for children and young people not to recognise that they are being abused due to the grooming methods often used by the perpetrators.

The needs of children and particularly of young people aged 16 and 17 years are likely to be overlooked for this reason. Although faced with limited choice, they may believe themselves to be acting voluntarily. It may take many weeks or months for practitioners who work with young people to build up their trust, and help them to recognise that they are being exploited.

Parental supportChild Criminal Exploitation can affect the whole family. As part of the grooming process, the perpetrator will deliberately seek to sever family relationships and instil a sense of distrsust by the child towards their family. The child might act violently or out of control, leading to possible problems at schools or with the police. Relationships or marriages can come under strain and parents’ own mental health can be seriously challenged.

• Parents are the primary safe guarder of a child, with 90% of exploited children living at home. Parents are providing the 24/7 support when others are no longer there.

• Parents and family carers are best placed to understand their child, to identify changes in behaviour and to intervene early when risks are identified.

• Supported parents can explore their own feelings in a safe and non-judgemental environment.

• Parents who are informed about CCE and grooming can begin to see why their child has become a changed person since the abuse started.

10 11

The role of partner agencies Cases managed through the MAPPA framework facilitates the safeguarding responsibilities of relevant authorities and provides further accountability to a collaborative approach to the management of safeguarding practice.

The need to take all actions necessary to safeguard children is a priority within NPS delivery. The focus and emphasis of the NPS is on managing risk to children (with a corresponding focus on welfare in the context of risk management).

Through the NPS assessment process safeguarding is a clear requirement within each Offender Assessment System (OASys) and practitioners have the very clear expectation that sentence plans are constructed collaboratively with the offender and include specific objectives targeted at safeguarding.

The NPS promotes the fact that safeguarding is the responsibility of all members of staff and not limited to operational employees.

This has been achieved through relevant training and ensuring systems which support operations clearly identify those offenders which present a risk to children and that all information is updated to be accurate and reflect current intervention and assessment to manage safeguarding issues.

The NPS is fully committed to the partnership approach of the Child Criminal Exploitation group and is able to support colleagues through risk assessment and risk management practices.

Support for Looked After Children

In most cases, young people enter care either because they have been abused or neglected or because they have been rejected by their families or become estranged from their families which increases their vulnerability.

For older young people there may well be issues relating to lack of stability and routine. Issues of self-worth and belonging can result in young people being drawn to groups or individuals willing to devote time and attention to them. The pull can be over a period of time and carers and workers need to be attuned to changes in their young people.

For this purpose the staff members and carers will need to understand their contribution in prevention

and managing risk and improving the awareness of Criminal and Child Sexual Exploitation. Young people reports and research demonstrates that building effective relationships with care givers and support services through positive experience, communication, sharing and role modelling is vital.

Looked after children are proportionally more likely to be reported missing. The interplay between missing episodes and exploitation need to be considered and assessed, including association groups, where children are located, any injuries or marks.

Effective interagency planning for all looked after children needs to take into account risk and resilience and via using worry statements and safety plan with the young person consider how they are best kept safe. Key strengths in North East Lincolnshire are the quality of the Children’s homes and part of this is the commitment to locating the children when they are missing.

Managers from the homes contribute to safeguarding meetings for individual children and strategically. The homes are smaller to allow for better development of relationships.

The vulnerability of young people leaving care can increase due to the reduction in services immediately round them. Living alone could make them possible targets for cuckooing. Ensuring good planning continues and that young people have a routine will increase their resilience. Staying Put and Staying Close options are considered for young people.

A Sunday service provides a link to maintain contact with young people, where they can eat and spent time casually with support staff. There are protocols in place with the local colleges and YPSS. 8 weekly homes visits are required to ensure safety and stability.

Young and Safe

The principal aim of the Youth Offending Service is to prevent offending by children and young persons by:

• Confronting young offenders with the consequences of their offending and helping them to develop a sense of personal responsibility.

• Intervention which tackles the risk factors associated with offending - personal, family, social, educational, health, drugs, accommodation, peer group pressure,

Children’s social care

Children’s social care have the lead responsibility for responding to children and young people at high risk of criminal exploitation and act in accordance with their responsibilities under the Children Act 1989.

Following a referral Children’s social care have a duty, under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, to ensure that the needs of all children and young people who are involved in, or are at risk of, being criminally exploited are assessed and that appropriate multi-agency engagement and appropriate interventions are undertaken.

Social workers will ensure that for ongoing or open cases in children’s social care that children and young people’s needs are met, employing a multi-agency approach. The risk of harm to the child or young person will be re-assessed in light of any emerging information relating to criminal exploitation and any existing plans amended accordingly.

Long-term support for young people affected by criminal exploitation is provided, ensuring that they are fully supported to reduce any further risk. If an existing plan exists, the plan to reduce the risk of criminal exploitation will be incorporated into this plan. For example a child in need or a child protection plan.

Children’s social care continues to work in partnership with Humberside Police and the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB), coordinating, chairing and attending the multi-agency child exploitation (MACE) meetings, promoting the sharing of intelligence across agencies to reduce the risk of criminal exploitation to vulnerable young people across the Authority.

Police

Humberside Police have a responsibility to recognise and be able to identify children at risk of Child Criminal Exploitation – and to make the appropriate risk assessments and referrals in order to safeguard that child from any further danger/exploitation.

Alongside this – it is paramount that Humberside Police provide the necessary training and guidance to all officers regarding CCE and the risk factors to look out for in order to identify and effectively deal with a

child potentially in need. This training needs to be in line with Home Office standards, and in keeping with partner agencies protocols and guidance. Similarly training and guidance will be provided on how officers can deal with offenders identified to be linked to CCE.

Humberside Police have a duty to provide and share intelligence to appropriate partner agencies in relation to County Lines and potential OCG suspects and groups which may act to reduce numbers of children at risk. Therefore alignment with Youth Offending Services, the council and the Early Intervention teams are essential. There should be a support system in place at all times to ensure that any child or family that are deemed to be vulnerable and at risk are monitored and supported until their risk level can be reduced.

National Probation Service (NPS)

The National Probation Service are responsible for the management, assessment and rehabilitation of predominantly high risk and MAPPA eligible offenders and supporting victims of crime.

The promotion of safeguarding practice extends to all areas of service delivery.

This includes:

The Pre-sentence stage to assess the risk of serious harm presented by an offender towards children and young people and the recommendation of sentencing options to mitigate and reduce such risks.

Working directly with offender in the community and in prison through the statutory supervision framework to target their criminogenic needs and the associated risks to young people. This is achieved on a number of levels through accredited programme work, direct case management and supervision, interventions which address domestic abuse, mental health issues, substance misuse and violent and sexual offending.

The NPS works on a statutory basis with victims of offences specified within Schedule 15 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. This allows for the child’s voice to be heard in respect of sentence planning, risk management activities, the formation of licence conditions to manage any risks to children (which can include no contact or supervised contact, exclusion zones, directed residence and prohibited activities).

12 13

low self-esteem, poor academic attainment etc.

• Punishment proportionate to seriousness and persistence of offending, with a range of penalties available to the Courts (referral orders, Youth Rehabilitation Orders and Custody).

• Encouraging reparation to victims or to the community by young offenders.

• Reinforcing the responsibilities of parents.

• Working in partnership with a range of Criminal Justice agencies.

• Ensuring identified vulnerabilities such as Child Criminal Exploitation and Child Sexual Exploitation are developed through the Youth Offending Service.

There have been significant developments in North East Lincolnshire in relation to Child Criminal Exploitation, particularly in reference to young people involved in drug trafficking, county lines and modern day slavery.

Partnerships have been formed to develop a multi-agency response which include practice development, identification, managing the risk of individuals and workforce development. To assist with this the Council’s Youth Offending services have dedicated the below developments.

• NELC have seconded an allocated CCE link worker to provide a first point of access for all practitioners to report any concerns in relation to CCE and to offer support, advice and guidance.

• Ensure intelligence sharing with Police and other key partners to support building of a wider picture of the issues the area faces in regards to OCG’s and County Lines.

• To work directly with individuals and their families identified at MACE and/ or is at risk of exploitation. Targeted work which includes programmes such as ‘Which Way’.

• Development of new and innovative programmes of direct work that tackle all areas of exploitation.

• Sharing of concerns with all required professionals e.g. social workers in order to build safeguards for Children Families and the workforce.

• Attendance at relevant boards / risk management panels to ensure that individual risk/ harm /exploitation levels are assessed.

• Developing the preventative agenda, providing education, training and awareness to schools, partners, parents and families.

• To develop group work programmes across the partnership to support the prevention of vulnerability of CCE.

Health Services

All health providers and practitioners within both community and acute services whose role is to deliver services to children and their families should be aware of the guiding principles of identifying children and young people who are at risk of criminal exploitation.

School nurses are key professionals in the delivery of services to many of the young people who may be affected by CCE. Requests for contraception, pregnancy testing, support for health related concerns and relationship issues may be made in “drop-in” sessions or via Chat Health (telephone texting service).

Practitioners should remain vigilant to the history offered by young people and whether there are any inconsistencies or concerning information that needs to be shared with colleagues in social care. In addition children and young people may present at their GPs and the hospital with injuries associated with gang activity including knife wounds.

Whilst the majority of children who are criminally exploited live at home research tells us that some LAC who are CCE are living independently (at aged 16) so will pose a greater challenge consideration to some of those small but significant groups.

It is imperative that channels of communication between health providers are maintained and that relevant information is shared across all agencies involved.

Education

There should be a focus on disseminating information around the risks and implications of CCE on children

and young people in North East Lincolnshire schools and academies. All education services to provide a conduit to expert advice and guidance available to schools and academies in relation to identification of those students at risk of CCE and offer appropriate support for students whose education is impacted by CCE. All education support mechanisms within the Local Authority to give due consideration to the antecedent that CCE places on students in relation to behaviour, attendance and engagement. Support the development of bespoke training for education/school/academy staff that aims to identify and support those students within NEL schools/academies that are at risk of or subject to CCE. Actively support the development of a wider level of understanding of CCE across NEL and facilitate this process through key conduits including student focused services, head teachers forum, CP co-ordinators forum, governors forum, Behaviour and Attendance Collaborative (BAC), SENAG and all educational structures within and involving North East Lincolnshire Council.

Steps taken:

• Overview of CCE in NEL provided to senior leaders from all 10 secondary academies and PRU/AP provider through secondary BAC, update of this information in place for spring term 2018 (end of January)

• Awareness of CCE agenda provided through LSCB education sub group and update on development of CCE strategic plan discussed and disseminated with representatives from all phases of education within this forum.

• Training for staff working with within PRU and AP settings in place for Spring term 2018 (end of January), this aims to offer bespoke advice, guidance and expertise to staff working with the most hard to reach and vulnerable students within NELC.

Voluntary Agencies Foundations

Foundations Adults and young people’s team are proactive in the prevention and intervention of child criminal exploitation. Foundations work with both young people and adult service users and have an opportunity to engage both victims and perpetrators of child criminal exploitation. They work with people who are mandated to attend their service through the

courts as well as voluntary offenders, and collaborate with the courts and probation to support individuals to stop offending behaviour.

Foundations recognises that the young people who are using substances are at high risk of exploitation and ensure that this is addressed throughout all work completed. The young people’s team go into schools and colleges delivering group interventions which tackle grooming, risks and prevention of child criminal exploitation. This is also addressed in the Comprehensive Assessment and direct work with young people and their families (when necessary) covering – consequences of criminal behaviour involving substances and how substance misuse is funded.

Risk management plans are completed addressing how this will be managed and risk reduced. Foundations take a multi-agency approach to managing risk working very closely with the Youth Offending Service, Safeguarding Service, Early Help and local educational providers.

Foundations Young People’s Team keep the young people at the heart of the practice at all times. The service recognises that all young people are at risk of child criminal exploitation. However we recognise that young people between the ages of 16 and 17 are high risk, as they are moving from adolescence into adulthood. Young people often either don’t recognise or bypass the risks due to financial gain. The young people’s workers have weekly appointments with the young people and are able to build positive working relationships. This enables them to have the difficult conversations about child criminal exploitation and establish the child’s voice. Foundations also attend the monthly MACE meeting where young people who are highlighted as at risk are discussed and plans put in place to support them to reduce their risk.

The Foundations adults team have excellent working relationships with the Probation Service. Fortnightly Integrated Offender Management (IOM) meetings are attended and a weekly clinic held at the probation Service completes direct work with adult service users. Young people on IOM are managed separately from the adults and are seen at the Youth Offending Service. Direct work is completed with IOM service users to educate them in appropriate relationships with children and any information gained is fed into the IOM meetings, Youth Offending Service and referred into CASS.

14 15