A Review of the Criminal Exploitation of Children, commissioned by the charity Action for Children was published this morning. Charles Geekie KC, who is a member of the Action for Children board of trustees, was a member of the review panel which was chaired by Professor Alexis Jay CBE, who headed up the long-running Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
The Review found that urgent action is needed to overhaul a failing system causing serious and preventable harm to children exploited by criminals and calls for a new offence of criminally exploiting children and a national strategy for preventing exploitation.
A series of recommendations are made, as new research from the charity suggests over 130,000 parents say their child has experienced three or more signs of criminal exploitation in the last 12 months.
A summary of the recommendations is below:
- A single, cohesive legal code designed to tackle the criminal exploitation of children, including:
- A statutory definition of criminal exploitation of children within UK law.
- New powers for the police and criminal justice system to identify and sanction exploiters.
- A new specific offence of criminally exploiting children.
- Coordinated policy and practice at a local and national level, including:
- A UK wide strategy for preventing criminal exploitation of children from central government.
- A welfare-first approach in the management of offences committed by exploited young people.
- Investment, research and whole-system learning, including funding for early intervention services.
70 organisations and individuals, including Children’s Commissioners from all four nations, contributed to the Review, along with young people and families with lived experience.
To learn more about the findings and about the work of Action for Children, consult the links below.
Action For Children Full Review Report