West Mercia Police respond to Sunday Mirror article investigating child sexual exploitation in Telford

West Mercia Police has responded to an article published in the Sunday Mirror and online today investigating child sexual exploitation in Telford.

The Mirror says they carried out an 18-month investigation which revealed abuse on unprecedented levels over a period of 40 years.

The article claims that up to 1,000 children could have suffered - where sex gangs targeted girls as young as 11.

Assistant Chief Constable for West Mercia Police, Martin Evans, said: "We are aware of the information the Sunday Mirror newspaper have provided to us, and can confirm that it is not new.

"Police in Telford take all reports of child sexual exploitation (CSE), the systematic emotional, physical and psychological abuse of young people, and grooming, extremely seriously.

"Tackling such horrific offences is the number one priority for police in Telford and we have not only increased officer numbers to tackle this type of offending, but use all of our resources and technology available to prosecute anyone who sexually offends against children whether that offending took place today, yesterday or decades ago.

"The whole issue of offending against children has risen in profile as a result of a number of high profile cases, including Operation Chalice in 2013.

"This was one of the first national complex critical investigations into grooming offences. It centred on historic offending in Telford and Wrekin and ultimately resulted in seven men being jailed for a total of 49 years.

"Over the subsequent years we have continuously focused on this area, whilst working very closely with our communities to ensure there is confidence to report issues people become aware of.

"We work alongside health and local authority professionals as the Community Safety Partnership, which my local Commander, Superintendent Tom Harding chairs. CSE is the partnership's number one priority.

"Last year government officials from the Home Office spent time visiting the area and personally paid thanks to the commitment of the staff working to protect young people at risk from sexual exploitation.

"They also recognised the strong working partnership ethos between the police, social workers and health professionals.

"The positive focus of Superintendent Harding and his team on achieving the best outcomes for victims and the force's use of intelligence to identify risk were also highlighted.

"This Home Office inspection and the Ofsted inspection have both praised the partner agencies in Telford for working so positively together to tackle the issue of CSE.

"We would strongly advise anyone concerned about CSE in Telford to visit www.tell-someone.org to find out more about recognising the signs and how to get help and advice."

Telford & Wrekin Council statement
Telford & Wrekin Council today issued the following statement:

While we can’t comment on the detail of individual cases, child sexual exploitation is a vile evil crime.

As national headlines continue to demonstrate it’s an issue right across the UK and has been for a long time. Anyone who says otherwise is burying their head in the sand.

Telford will be covered by the national CSE review by Alexis Jay, who led the Rotherham inquiry. We welcome this review coming to Telford.

We will welcome sharing what we have learned yourselves and from many other recent cases such as those in Blackburn, Bristol, Oxford and Newcastle.

All agencies in the borough continue to work very closely together and we must leave no stone unturned - this remains our top priority.

Our approach to CSE is now very different from 10 – 20 years ago. We have learned lots of lessons and made many changes to our practices, which we keep under constant review.

In 2009 we were one the first councils to set up a task force with police and other agencies to tackle CSE and this has led to seven men being convicted at the time. We and our partners are constantly on the lookout for indicators of CSE so that we can pass information on to police to stop CSE and bring these evil criminals to justice. Indeed further cases are now coming through court.

For any victim to come forward requires huge courage, and we are committed to offering them our full support and help.

In 2013, we commissioned our own independent review into CSE. In July 2016 this was covered by an OFSTED inspection and a visit by Home Office and Dept for Education teams in 2017. We have also put extra resources into tackling and preventing CSE here and asking the Government to give us further help.

Following the 2016 inspection, OFSTED said: “Work with children and young people at risk of sexual exploitation is very strong. The local authority has been a champion for tackling this issue. It provides leadership to partner agencies, with who this work is well co-ordinated. Work to protect children who go missing from home or care is thorough and improving.

"There is a strong commitment from the local authority and its partners to tackle child sexual exploitation... Consequently, young people receive comprehensive and well-coordinated services that make a positive difference."

If anyone is aware of a child at risk, they should contact West Mercia Police on 101 in the first instance.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: “The scale of the problem of child sexual exploitation in Telford and Wrekin is deeply concerning - so it is vital that action is taken to ensure cases like those which sparked Operation Chalice are prevented in future.

"Child sexual exploitation is a pernicious crime which ruins lives and victims must be able to speak out in the knowledge they will be taken seriously and action will be taken.

"We offer the only national helpline for children in distress. Young people can contact Childline anytime on 0800 1111 or www.childline.org.uk."