New figures highlight ‘stark reality’ of child exploitation in Bradford

A new report produced by Bradford Council looks at the extent of Child Exploitation in the District. And while similar reports in the past have focused on sexual exploitation, the latest report also looks at criminal exploitation, and the emerging “county lines” phenomenon.

Recent years have seen the issue of child criminal exploitation rise in prominence. It normally involves older criminals, often linked to the drug trade, “groom” young people into a life of crime, including drug dealing and theft.

At a meeting of the Council’s decision making Executive next week, members will be given a report on child exploitation in Bradford, with the report recognising the impact of criminal exploitation.

New figures in the report show that this August there were more boys in the Bradford District flagged as being at risk of exploitation from older criminals than girls.

Bradford Safeguarding Board says greater attention will be paid to criminal exploitation of children

A report to the committee says: “Nationally and locally, safeguarding partners are now addressing the emergence of numerous themes including Serious and Organised Crime, Modern Day Slavery and criminal exploitation as new threats in a similar way to the same conversations in the last decade around Child Sexual Exploitation.”

It says children aged between 14-17 are most likely to be targeted for criminal exploitation, and adds: “National thinking recognises the need for earlier help for children at risk, responses that see children as victims and not criminals, and joined-up national and local responses.”

The report details what is done in Bradford to help tackle exploitation, including work by a partnership made up of the Council. police, charities and community safety groups that works to intervene in the lives of at risk children, or children who have already become victims of exploitation.

Most recent figures show that in August there were 311 children in the district flagged as being at risk of child exploitation. Of these 51 were flagged as “significant risk.”

Of these 149 were flagged as being at risk of criminal exploitation and 162 of sexual exploitation.

Thirty were aged just 12 or less, 143 were aged 13-15 and 138 were aged 16 to 18.

Of the total 148 were female and 163 were male.

The report also breaks down which area the children live in - with 89 in Keighley, 70 in Bradford South, 60 in Bradford West, 25 in Shipley and 27 in Keighley. 40 live outside the Bradford District.

Since the start of 2020 the numbers of children flagged as at risk of exploitation in any one month has fluctuated from 283 to 389.

An NSPCC spokesman said: “Child exploitation, in all its forms, is an abhorrent form of grooming and these figures highlight, in stark reality, why it is so vital that resources are in place to help protect our children from abuse.

“We all have a responsibility to think about, recognise and ultimately speak out against the exploitation of our children, so we can help to protect them and prosecute offenders. Exploitation can involve offering children gifts, attention, drugs or alcohol and, unfortunately, the young people may not realise they are being manipulated.

“Like all forms of abuse, we must be clear this is never the child’s fault and by speaking out, we hope, we will empower them to recognise unhealthy relationships and perpetrators’ grooming behaviour.”

After being discussed at the online Executive meeting on Monday, the report will go the Council's five different Area Committees, made up of local councillors.

Last week Judge Recorder Margia Mostafa spoke of the issue of child exploitation while sentencing a drug dealer to 30 years in prison.

Judge says drugs are blighting Bradford East as crack cocaine and heroin dealer is jailed

She said that drug dealing was the worst problem young people identified in the Bradford East area, while parents feared their children would be sucked into the deadly trade by the trafficking gangs.