Children at risk of being exploited, figures reveal
Dozens of children in Walsall were deemed to be at risk of being criminally or sexually exploited in just a five month period, figures have revealed.
Members of Walsall Council’s children’s services overview and scrutiny committee were told of the work being done with partners including the police to tackle the issue.
And statistics in a report to councillors showed between October 1 2022 and February 28 this year, Walsall’s Exploitation Hub was given 181 referrals.
Of these, a total of 52 children were deemed to be at risk of criminal exploitation – three of which were deemed high.
A further 46 youngsters were identified as being at risk of being sexually exploited – 10 of which were deemed high.
And 10 children were said to be at risk of being exploited both criminally and sexually and two of these were flagged as high.
The hub, which sees partners including the council and police sharing data and analysis, also referred 26 young adults who were at risk.
Katie Storer-Young, principal exploitation reduction officer, said a lot of work was going into communities working directly with parents.
She added areas in Walsall where children were most at risk of being exploited were the town centre, Caldmore, Palfrey, Bloxwich, Mossley and Blakenall.
Zoe Morgan, Head of Service for help, protection and support in Walsall Children’s Social Care, said: “There are many ways in which a child can be exploited.
“The focus of the work we do is around criminal exploitation where victims are forced or coerced into criminal activities.
“I’m sure people are aware of terms such as County Lines and various ways in which young people can be exploited into criminal activity by others.
“There’s sexual exploitation where victims are coerced into sexual activities, of course that can be non-contact so focusing on some of the abuse taking place on line.
“And then we have modern slavery where victims are recruited, removed or harboured and young people may be trafficked from one place to another to be sexually exploited.”
She added a strategy had been in place since 2019 to tackle the issue and a lot of work continues to be carried out across the borough.
