Remember; YOUR INTERVENTION COULD STOP A CHILD FROM BEING HURT AND EXPLOITED Sometimes gut feelings or something that does not sit well with you or your co taxi workers makes you concerned and we would advise you to contact the Child Safeguarding Team on 0300 126 1000 or Northamptonshire Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency. Get as much detail as possible from the people you believe are involved i.e. names, descriptions, any numbers used to make bookings, locations of pick ups/ drop offs, vehicle registrations and the activity you have seen.
RISE—Reducing Incidents of Sexual Exploitation is a multi-agency service that includes Child Protection Police Officers, CAN Young People workers, Children ’s Social Care workers and a dedicated nurse. It exists to prevent and protect young people from Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and to prosecute perpetrators. For information and advice contact RISE on 01604 888345 or email rise@northants.pnn.police.uk. This is a non emergency number. To report incidents please call Northamptonshire Police on 101 or in an emergency call 999.
Other useful contacts: Childline 0800 1111 Missing People Helpline 116 000 NHS Direct 111 (non-emergency) 999 (emergency) Northamptonshire County Council Customer Service Centre 0300 126 1000 Emergency Duty Team 01604 626938 Northamptonshire Police 101 (non-emergency) 999(emergency) NSPCC 0808 800 5000 Rape Crisis 0808 8029999 ‘ Voice ’ -Victim Support 08081689111
Useful Websites: LSCBN www.lscbnorthamptonshire.org.uk CEOP www.ceop.co.uk Northants Police www.northants.police.uk
Speak Out Against Child Exploitation This leaflet is specifically designed for Safeguarding Vulnerable Passengers from the Risk of Human Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation. We aim to promote good safeguarding practices for drivers. This is a multi-agency leaflet in partnership with Northamptonshire Police to aid keeping young people safe. This leaflet gives you advice when you have any concerns about young people who may be targeted for grooming or who could be at risk from being sexually exploited.
What is Child Sexual Exploitation? (CSE) The official definition “Involving exploitive situations, contexts and relationships where young people (or a third person or persons) receive ‘something ’ (e.g. food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts, money) as a result of their performing, and/or another or others performing on them, sexual activities”. In other words, Young People receive something in return for engaging in sexual activities. Offenders have power over victims due to their age, gender, intellect, physical strength and/or economic or other resources. CSE is the sexual and physical abuse and habitual rape of children by adults who achieve this by manipulating and gaining total control over those who cannot consent to sex either by virtue of their age or their incapacity.
Some signs may not be straight forward but please do bear in mind:
Going missing from home Relationships with older males or females Concern that young person is sexually active Breaking away from family, friends or professionals Not attending school Experimenting with drugs and/or alcohol Being secretive Involved in offending behaviour Unexplained mobile phones/credit Accepting lifts in different cars Sending and receiving inappropriate images
Who is an offender? Research into CSE shows that there is no one type of abuser. Perpetrators of CSE can be male or female, come from any ethnic background and be any age from someone in their mid 20s or late 40s. They may have a low social and/or economic status or they could be a wealthy individual in a considerable position of authority.
What can you do to help? Should I be concerned? You should be concerned if you see some of these signs:
A person who looks fearful, nervous, withdrawn or uncomfortable. Young people being picked up/dropped off at locations that seem unusual. Picking up young people from other cars. Young people who look distressed or intimidated. Young people under the influence of drugs/alcohol. Bribes by young people to avoid paying fares. Regular males requesting taxis from locations and taking young people with them. Taking young people to A&E who are not in the presence of their parents. Young people with injuries such as bruising or blood stains. A significantly older ‘boyfriend ’ or ‘friend ’.
Be aware of indicators of risk. Be aware of young people you think may be at risk. Be aware of addresses you are taking young people to. Pass on any information/concerns you have.
SAY SOMETHING IF YOU SEE SOMETHING What is human trafficking Law?
Section 59 (A) Sexual Offences Act
2003 A person intentionally arranges or facilitates: The travel of a person within the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation & during or after the journey believes that another person is likely to sexually exploit that person during or after the journey. This means that if a taxi driver transports a child knowing or believing that child will be sexually exploited, during or after the journey, that driver will commit the offence of Human Trafficking. The maximum sentence is 14 years imprisonment.
Hate Crime may be physical, verbal or written and can take many forms including:
Physical attack – such as physical assault, damage to property, offensive graffiti
Harassment, bullying and victimisation
Threat of attack – including offensive letters, abusive or obscene calls Verbal abuse or insults Offensive leaflets and posters, hate mail, abusive gestures, dumping of rubbish outside homes
A victim does not have to be a member of the group at which the hostility is targeted. In fact, anyone could be a victim of a hate crime. No one should have to tolerate hate incidents, reporting makes a difference, if we don’t know about it we can’t change it. Working in partnership, Corby Borough Council believes that everyone who lives or works in or visits Corby has the right to be treated with dignity and respect and to live without fear of hatred. Hate Incidents can feel like crimes to those who suffer them and often escalate to crimes or tension in a community. For this reason the police are concerned about incidents and you can use this site to report non-crime hate incidents. The police can only prosecute when the law is broken but can work with partners to try and prevent any escalation in seriousness. Why is it important to report hate incidents? Reporting makes a difference …to you, your family and your life; help us to help you! Only by recording incidents can we build up a comprehensive picture of hate incidents across Corby. We need to know the number, type and range of hate incidents. This will show us where the problem areas are and help us to improve services to deal with hate incidents. Who can report an incident? Anybody can complete the Hate Incident Monitoring Form. If you have experienced or are aware of anyone who has experienced a hate incident then we want to know about it. An incident report can be completed anonymously you do not have to identify yourself, but if you want us to contact you it is essential that you leave a contact number or address. You can report an incident even if you do not have all of the information requested on the form, as any information that you can provide may be valuable. You can report an incident:
By completing the on line reporting form By calling the Community Safety Team on 01536 464254 If you think the incident involved is a criminal offence you should report it to the police by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency
What happens next? Every incident form will be treated confidentially Every incident will be taken seriously If you report an incident we will record it only for statistical reasons. If you want help to take action, one of our Community Safety Officers will contact you to find out more. We will not give personal details about you to anyone, including the police or any other organisation, without asking you first.
What is a Keep safe card? The card is for anyone with a learning disability who lives in Northamptonshire The ‘keep safe’ card has been produced in a manner which is easy to read and understand, therefore whilst card holders are encouraged to go to identified ‘keep safe’ places it is accepted and encouraged that card holders will go to any public place that they feel safe in a bid to get help and assistance. The card looks like this one below What is the Keep Safe Scheme? The Keep Safe scheme is a countywide initiative, which has been developed by partners from Northamptonshire Police, N o r t h a m p to n s h i r e County Council, Mencap and people with learning disabilities. A core part of the scheme is the Keep Safe card which anyone with a learning disability can apply for, free of charge, from Northamptonshire Police. The card holder registers with the police and is provided a card which holds basic information about the individual such as how they communicate, any health issues and any emergency contacts such as parents or carers. If the card holder needs assistance, whether they are lost, a victim of crime or any situation that means they need some extra support, they can use the card to access this help. It will also help those providing assistance, such as librarians and the Police, to access support for the user of the card and understand how to make them feel safer. For further information about this scheme, a registration form accompanied by easy read guide on how to complete it can be requested from Northamptonshire Police’s FCR Service Recovery Dept. Address: FCR Service Recovery Dept, Force Headquarters, Wootton Hall, Northampton, NN4 0JQ Email: ServiceRecoveryDepartment@northants.police.uk Tel: 101 Ext 8326 (Office Hours only)