Number of Wandsworth child sexual exploitation cases quadruples in one year

Borough police dealt with 55 cases of youngsters considered at risk of child sexual exploitation (CSE) during the 2013/14 financial year. They dealt with just 12 cases the previous year.

The recently published Annual Report of Wandsworth Safeguarding revealed, from May 2013 to April 2014, the council’s sexual exploitation multi-agency panel (Semap) reviewed 51 cases of child sexual exploitation aged from 12 to 18. Four of the youngsters were boys and 47 were girls.

The report noted a continued increase of referrals to Semap and a rise in referrals of CSE to social care.

It said: "High profile cases such as Rochdale and Birmingham reminds us that we need to always be vigilant about this matter and ensure we have rigorous procedures in place to address this issue and keeping children and young people safe from sexual exploitation."

One Wandsworth youngster has been placed in secure accommodation on welfare grounds of sexual exploitation.

Three children went to new homes, following concerns about sexual exploitation, and seven looked-after young people have moved out of the area as a result of sexual exploitation.

The NSPCC defines child sexual exploitation (CSE) as abuse in which youngsters are sexually exploited for money, power or status.

It includes sex trafficking, gang abuse, online grooming, children being plied with drugs and alcohol and abusive relationships. Some of thes CSE cases resulted in criminal investigations and protection packages to protect the children from further abuse.

Meanwhile, children's charity Barnardo’s has been commissioned to undertake a piece of work to support young people in Wandsworth who are at risk of or are being sexually exploited.

The increase has been hailed as evidence of an increase in awareness and identification of CSE.

Detective Inspector Richard Milton, public protection portfolio at Wandsworth police, said: "With a recent investment and uplift in bespoke training of front line and secondary investigation teams, staff of Wandsworth police recognise that incidents of child sexual exploitation are not always straightforward and signals of risk are not always clear.

"However, with an increase in awareness and peripheral concerns this has led to an uplift in officers recognising and reporting concerns over child sexual exploitation. Combined with community engagement, and training with partner agencies, Wandsworth has seen a fourfold increase in the identification and reporting of these offences."

A Wandsworth Council spokesman said: "Protecting children and vulnerable young people from this kind of abuse is absolutely paramount to what we do as an organisation. In order to achieve this we constantly review and re-examine our procedures and processes to make sure they remain robust and effective. We also commission external agencies and leading children's charities and support groups to carry out detailed audits of our work.

"The most recent audit, carried out by The Children’s Society found that Wandsworth was making good progress in tackling sexual exploitation in comparison with other well-performing London boroughs. A new Child Sexual Exploitation Strategy has also been drawn up to ensure our procedures meet the highest standards, and in addition we are commissioning a new 'Missing Children Service' which will work to further strengthen our preventative work in this field."

Police have now created a specific reporting tool to record and investigate cases of CSE. For example all youngsters believed to be at risk of CSE now have a marker placed on the Police National Computer and if they are name-checked on the street, a police officer dealing with them will be aware they may be at risk and can take steps to ensure their safety and record good intelligence from the stop.

If you think a child is in immediate danger call 999. If you are a young person who needs help call Childline on 0800 11 11 or the NSPCC 24-hour child protection helpline on 0808 800 5000.