City of Manchester Complex Safeguarding Hub take part in week of action, educating public and partners of signs of CCE & CSE

Alongside the incredibly important enforcement work of the Challenger and County Lines teams during last week’s national County Lines Intensification Week, our Complex Safeguarding Hub situated within the City of Manchester district was also taking part in a very different way.

The Complex Safeguarding Hub is dedicated to supporting children thought to be at risk of or are currently being exploited within Manchester. It is co-located with partners and works very closely with Social Services, Early Help Practitioners, NHS staff, Children’s Society, Youth Justice and schools to ensure that children identified as being exploited are receiving the support, knowledge and safeguarding required to help them recognise and escape from harm.

Part of the team based at Greenheys Police Station is Detective Sergeant Jinnett Lunt, a career detective with a focus on exploitation investigations. Alongside Detective Sergeant Kate Brookes and Detective Inspector Chris Chadderton, DS Lunt helps to manage a team which currently consists of four detectives plus two in training, three police constables, two investigative support officers and one operational support officer.

Speaking about last week’s action, DS Lunt said, “Our team are committed to making sure as many people as possible are fully educated on the signs of child criminal and sexual exploitation (CCE and CSE) as well as County Lines and the impact of serious violence for children in the community.

“It’s a complex issue that will never be solved by policing alone; our partners, licensed premises, businesses, families of children at risk, and the public should all be in the know about the signs of exploitation, as being able to recognise them might just save a child from exploited into a really horrible life at the hands of criminals.

“Last week, we were out across the district alongside our partners educating the likes of foster carers on signs of County Lines and entry ways into violence, and sexual health clinic staff on behaviours or situations that may be indicative that someone is being exploited, and how this may cross over with county lines.

“These types of training sessions are something we do with different types of groups, including taxi drivers, hotel staff and doctors; the services those being exploited are most likely to encounter.

“Last week we also attended community family hubs in Cheetham Hill, Wythenshawe and Longsight, where members of the public, particularly parents, could speak to us about signs of exploitation and what steps they can take to intervene if they become concerned their child or another may be being exploited.

“With being a teenager comes understandable changes in behaviour, but it’s important to know the difference between normal changes and those that have a more sinister reason behind them.”

Some of the commonly recognised signs, although not exhaustive, are frequent missing from home episodes, school truancy, having high value items with no explanation where these are coming from, secretiveness around who they are speaking with or meeting, an increase in adult type behaviour such as drinking, taking drugs/possession of drugs, or using more obscene or sexual language, carrying weapons, plus general changes in their emotional wellbeing and behaviour. More information can be found here Child criminal exploitation | Child abuse | Greater Manchester Police (gmp.police.uk) and Child sexual exploitation | Greater Manchester Police (gmp.police.uk).

DS Lunt continued, “On Friday, the team took part in an intelligence gathering operation in Manchester City Centre. This involved plain clothed officers patrolling the area, looking out for any signs of suspicious activity which may be linked to exploitation and undertaking checks on children in the area to ensure there was nothing untoward going on.

“Whilst on their patrols, they were able to assist officers in Oldham in the hunt for two missing children, safely returning them back home.  

“As Operation Vulcan establishes itself within the city centre, we will be working closely with that team to ensure they are fully up to date on training around child exploitation and that we can provide safeguarding interventions for anyone they might identify as being at risk.”

The work demonstrated by the team during this intensification week is ingrained within their daily business. GMP continues to prioritise tackling CCE and CSE, as well as disruption of county lines and those people who prey on the most vulnerable children within our community.

If something doesn’t feel right – report it.

Greater Manchester Police can be contacted via gmp.police.uk or by dialling 101. You can also share information anonymously via the independent charity – Crimestoppers – on 0800 555 111.