Around 200 children across the county recognised as at risk of criminal exploitation

A partnership including Shropshire Council, police and others have been working with around 200 Shropshire children this year at risk of criminal exploitation or who are being exploited. The aim to help stop them becoming victims of this crime or, if they are already are, to support them to exit exploitation.

Shropshire Safeguarding Community Partnership said that criminal exploitation of children in the county took a variety of forms, including forcing children to sell drugs, become part of county lines gangs or child sexual exploitation. The forms of exploitation are often interlinked.

Councillors received an update from partners on how the work was progressing.

Partners report that the number of county lines gangs operating in the county has reduced over the last year but there are still 10 being investigated by police with links to Merseyside, Bristol and the West Midlands. Hotspots still in the county include Oswestry and the Harlescott and Sundorne areas of Shrewsbury.

"We made 177 arrests between March 2021 and March 2022," a police spokesperson said.

Police said that while houses believed to be bases for the gangs were watched, other agencies may well already be working with children who may be at risk.

The meeting heard that, since the start of 2022, there had been a revised pathway approach to the exploitation of children in Shropshire, with agencies working closely to help identify children who may be at risk and to reduce that risk by stepping in to disrupt and stop contact with those exploiting the child, and to give the child the support they need.

An Ofsted children’s services inspection this year said that the partnership working in Shropshire was effective at identifying children at risk.

Sonya Miller, Shropshire Council’s assistant director for children’s social care and safeguarding, said that experience in Shropshire shows that one form of exploitation often leads to further risk of exploitation, and during 2022 the partnership has seen 121 new children referred to it because they may be at risk. This triggered a series of actions for partners working with the child and their family to reduce the risk of exploitation.

The partnership, through the newly formed TREES team - Together Reducing and Ending Exploitation in Shropshire - was also working to raise awareness among professionals, schools, families and the wider community of the risks surrounding exploitation, and to recognise the signs so that children at risk can be helped. This has focused on events in Oswestry and Shifnal, with a further event in Ellesmere planned later in November.

“Our approach and understanding of criminal exploitation of children has developed considerably, to combat the breadth of exploitation that children are exposed to, and this is one of the priorities for the SSCP and all its partners," Sonya said.

“Exploitation of children is happening in Shropshire. No one agency can tackle this alone. We must all work together, and work with the community, to ensure we are doing all we can to raise awareness, identify those at risk, and disrupt the activity that can lead to exploitation.”