Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Corporate Director of Resources, which provided the Committee with background information in advance of a presentation from Durham Constabulary on child and adult exploitation (for copy see file of Minutes).

Detective Chief Inspector Lee Blakelock and Detective Superintendent Nicola Lawrence gave a detailed presentation which provided Members with an overview of child and adult exploitation with a focus on:

·        Contextual Safeguarding

·        Child Exploitation Vulnerability Tracker (CEVT)

·        Multi Agency Approach

·        Governance

·        Analysis

Members were informed that there was a dedicated team who had access to both Durham County Council and Police records, who were able to provide updates every 48-72 hours into one central system. It was noted that some individuals had taken advantage of children due to the cost of living crisis which had led to an increase in child exploitation.

Councillor Craig Martin joined the Meeting at 9.38 am.

It was brought to Members attention that an increase in the trend of cuckooing had been noticed, with organised crime involved in preying on the vulnerable and elderly in these difficult times. It was added that Neighbourhood Police officers were very aware of this activity. Members were made aware that a lot of crime was linked with County Lines activity trying to expand the reach of their operations.

Members were informed that heightened awareness around harm occurring to children away from the home after 3pm was important with a need to know where children were. Training on contextual safeguarding and the vulnerability of isolated children had been provided by Professor Carlene Firmin MBE.

Members were informed that the CEVT was a system that used indicators from multiple agencies which included:

·        Police

·        Youth Offending Services

·        Barnardos

·        Children’s Services

·        Drugs and Alcohol Services

·        Education

The CEVT could provide cases with a score to indicate what action was required using a traffic light system. Members were informed of the Operational Child Exploitation Group (CEG), which had a focus on the highest risk cases across Durham and Darlington.  

Members were presented with a breakdown of sexual offences against children for April and May 2022 and the child exploitation vulnerability tracker.

It was noted that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) had now been completed and the final report published. The key points raised from this report was the noted exploitation of children from gangs in southern parts of the Country, and the required education around victim blaming language. The aim for Durham was to continue the work of the action plan using Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) principles to provide the effective help that  vulnerable people needed.

It was noted that following the pandemic there had been an increase in the number of empty buildings throughout the County which were now being used by gangs for criminal activity. 

Councillor Jake Miller agreed that there were a lot of buildings throughout the County that were empty and attracted anti-social behaviour as well as other activities. Councillor Miller drew the Committees attention to page 27 and raised concerns over the particular high figure for both the south and east areas and enquired what was being done to tackle these areas.

The Detective Superintendent informed the Committee that both areas were large areas within the County so would always have higher numbers in comparison, and added that the figures could include interfamilial abuse noting a rise in abuse between parents and siblings, but confirmed that action would always be taken to try and prevent abuse.

The Detective Chief Inspector advised that assault was more prominent in the south and the east of the County and informed Members that abuse was often repetitive and reported historically. It was commented that COVID had not impacted on the figures.

Councillor Mike McGaun thanked both officers for their presentation and enquired what the threshold was for intervention on cuckooing, and what methods of communication were available to communities to report activity around empty buildings. 

In response to questions from Councillor McGaun, the Detective Superintendent informed the Committee that the Crime Stoppers phone line was an effective method, with action taken against any reports the phone line receives, adding that Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) were another source. The Detective Superintendent confirmed that any report of potential cuckooing would be actioned immediately and would need to be investigated to make sure it was genuine.

Councillor Joe Quinn enquired about modern day slavery and what methods were used to check if someone was a victim or just purporting to be one.

The Detective Superintendent noted it was the job of the investigation to determine if people were there of free will with stringent questioning, by checking things such as phone records, access to papers and records and how freely they were moving in and out of the empty buildings.   

Detective Chief Inspector added that it was a challenge with a continually moving landscape noting that the Police were alive to the fact people lie.

Councillor Veronica Andrews noted how difficult it could be to notice illicit behaviour citing an incident in her area which had gone undetected.

The Detective Superintendent informed the Committee that these types of incidents highlighted a need for enforcement checks. He explained that the natural curiosity of people would sometimes lead to acts being detected and that in some cases landlords would be contacted if there was a suspicion of activity.

Resolved

The content of the report and presentation be noted.