Greater Manchester Police and partners come together to tackle child exploitation

On Thursday, 12 September, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) came together with partners across the region to learn best practice approaches to tackling child exploitation.

The event - which was co-ordinated by Greater Manchester’s Complex Safeguarding Hub in partnership with GMP, Programme Challenger, and the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit - provided a valuable opportunity to equip multi-agency frontline professionals across various sectors with the skills needed to support complex safeguarding teams. Key areas of focus included early identification, information sharing, safeguarding, and coordinated multi-agency disruption.

The event was one of four arranged to launch the Greater Manchester Complex Safeguarding Strategy, with further events scheduled for 15 and 16 October 2024.

A wide range of exploitation-related topics were addressed, such as neurodiversity, trauma, child-centred approaches, lived experiences, online harms, identity issues, and the intersection of child criminal and sexual exploitation, including the role of girls in county lines.

Special guest speakers in attendance were Kate Green, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Safer and Stronger Communities, Detective Superintendent Claire McGuire from North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit, officers from Operation Vigilant and GMP’s Child-Centred Policing team, Graham Lowe, of Safer Internet UK, St. Giles Trust, Tracy Hammond from Keyring, Dan Jones of Manchester City Council, and Mari Saeki from the National Autistic Society.

Representatives from Lads Like Us, who are recognised as a leading lived experience resource for those who work with adults and children who have experienced trauma, delivered a powerful talk and encouraged police and partners to adopt a trauma-informed approach when interacting with children.

Detective Superintendent Joseph Harrop, Head of Serious and Organised Crime, Greater Manchester Police, said: “The event aimed to enhance collaboration across Greater Manchester in addressing child exploitation, raising awareness of the associated risks, challenging conventional approaches, and identifying best practices and opportunities for mutual learning.

“By bringing together experts who are committed to protecting children, we are developing solutions that will strengthen the collective efforts in preventing, disrupting, and prosecuting those responsible for the most heinous crimes.

“I have no doubt the learnings from the event will be disruptive to criminal networks operating both within Greater Manchester and beyond, and our work to tackle those responsible and protect those being exploited will not stop here.

"Protecting children and young people in GM is our top priority, and the partnership work being carried out is to be commended. I thank everyone for their dedication and determination in the fight against crimes targeting children.

“Finally, I would like to stress that support is available to anyone who feels threatened, knows they are being exploited, or has concerns about the way they are being treated.

"I would also encourage members of the public to make themselves aware of the signs of child exploitation. We rely on intel being submitted to help us drive our operations forward, so it really is imperative that no matter how big or small, anyone with concerns should come forward. You could be the difference for a victim, and we all have a responsibility to protect young and vulnerable members of our communities, so it is important we all know what to look out for.”

Kate Green, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Safer and Stronger Communities, said: “Child exploitation is an abhorrent crime and there’s no place for it in society. Tackling it, keeping children safe, and bringing perpetrators to justice is a top priority for us and we will leave no stone unturned in our relentless pursuit of this.

“Tackling child exploitation and extra-familial harm requires everyone to play their part and to work together. That is why it is so important that the police, our local authorities, and the excellent partners in our VCFSE-sector across Greater Manchester can collaborate and share information in order to deal with this issue collectively.

“I have seen first-hand the important work our Complex Safeguarding Hub is doing for our city-region, ensuring high standards are maintained when dealing with the exploitation of children, and I was happy to voice my support at this session. It has been a great opportunity to show how frontline professionals across Greater Manchester are working together on this issue, and to help ensure they are equipped with best-practice, research, and knowledge to better support our local communities, children, and families.”

If you have information, please call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or contact GMP via 101. Always dial 999 in an emergency.