CSE review calls for government to overhaul secure protection system
Joe Lepper
Friday, February 23, 2018
The use of secure settings to protect vulnerable children at risk of sexual exploitation needs to be overhauled as it is failing to prevent further abuse, according to a major safeguarding review.
A serious case review (SCR) into large-scale child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Newcastle found that restricting the liberty of children is failing in one of its key objectives, to prevent perpetrators making contact with victims.
The SCR was launched in the wake of Operation Sanctuary which was launched by Northumbria Police in January 2014 with a wave of arrests, following allegations of abuse made in December 2013.
Currently councils can place children who have been victims, or are at risk of CSE, in secure settings, to save them from perpetrators and to offer them therapeutic support. But the serious case review details that the use of secure settings for victims was failng to prevent abusers making contact with children.
Pointing to 2015 analysis of its use in Oxfordshire, an area where similar large scale CSE was uncovered, the review states: "The Oxfordshire review concluded that secure accommodation may solve the problem temporarily but is ineffective beyond, unless groomers are disrupted or removed.
"The practitioners commented that the placements had two objectives, to save victims from themselves and to save victims from perpetrators.
"Mostly the first was met but the second was not always met in secure settings, since contact from perpetrators continued and there were no effective measures to deal with them."
The review also found that children resented being placed in secure settings. Professionals supporting those at risk of abuse in secure settings also told the review that they were concerned that the liberty of victims was being denied while abusers remained free.
"Practitioners expressed unease at the placement of a victim in a secure placement while the perpetrators remained free," states the report.
"All the victims had high regard for the staff who work in secure units but resented having been placed."
It adds: "Residents can be skilled at complying with requirements and securing release before there has been an opportunity for therapeutic intervention."
The review recommends that more flexible arrangements involving semi-secure accommodation are used. Such flexible approaches are already commonplace in protecting vulnerable adults from abuse.
"It would be helpful to consider introducing similar flexibility for the placement of children," states the report.
The review was carried out by both the Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board and Newcastle Safeguading Adults Board, as adults were among the exploitation victims.
It was launched in the wake of Operation Sanctuary, which was set up by Northumbria Police in January 2014 to investigate widescale abuse.
This led to 30 arrests, following allegations of abuse made in December 2013. Around 700 victims have been identified and 18 men were convicted and jailed.
In total 15 national recommendations are made by the review, including for NHS England to set up a risk information sharing system for sexual health settings, which were found to be used by victims.
A review of safeguarding arrangements for children being educated outside of school is also called for.
In addition, the review wants to see national research into how sexual exploitation can be included in Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) lessons in school. The government has pledged to make relationship education statutory in all secondary schools.
The review also praises the speed and effectiveness of agencies in Newcastle for uncovering the scale of the problem from 2014 and in identifying, supporting and protecting victims.
It adds that the conduct of professionals and organisations in Newcastle differed from those in other areas to be blighted by widescale sexual exploitation.
"In Newcastle, decisions about taking action were not influenced by lack of concern or interest, misplaced fears about political correctness or fear of being seen as racist," says the review.
"Neither was there any evidence of ineffective leadership or inappropriate interference by senior officials or political leaders to prevent action being taken that have been a feature of reviews elsewhere."
