Criminal Exploitation/ Gang Grooming
Criminal exploitation is a form of child abuse where children and young people are manipulated and coerced into committing a crime at the hands of the abuser.
According to the young lives commission, new figures reveal that 12,720 children in England were identified by social services as being at risk of criminal exploitation by gangs in 2020/21. The figures also show there were 16,830 children where child sexual exploitation was a factor during their assessment, and 2710 children where trafficking was a key concern.
A process whereby children are recruited to buy and sell drugs through a manipulative process that is initiated through the offering of free food. Young people are coerced into a lifestyle of crime following what some may perceive as an initial act of kindness. Children are targeted outside of chicken shops and offered food. As a means to create debt and enforce fear/ control over the lives of those involved.
OUR YOUNG PEOPLE NEED OUR PROTECTION