Introduction

Whilst this guidance concentrates on child criminal exploitation it is unlikely that a child or young person will experience exploitation solely in one category. Therefore, our response must consider the overlapping and nested nature of exploitation. Perpetrators may also be responsible for more than one type of exploitation.

Child criminal exploitation (CCE) involves multiple forms of harm, where children and young people are manipulated, coerced, or forced into activities that place them at risk of significant physical and psychological harm. These forms of exploitation include, but are not limited to:

• CCE which is often linked to drug-related activity, where children and young people may be coerced into transporting drugs, money, or weapons
• Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) where children and young people are manipulated or forced into sexual activity, often in exchange for something they need or want
• Trafficking for the purpose of exploitation. This can include criminal activity, sexual, or labour exploitation
• Exploitation linked to Terrorism and Radicalisation, where children and young people are drawn into extremist ideologies or activities.

CCE of children and young people has a devastating impact on victims, families and local communities but is often not recognised by those who are best placed to detect it.

This guidance is intended to explain the nature of this harm to enable practitioners to recognise its signs and respond appropriately so that victims and potential victims get the protection and support they need.

CCE requires a comprehensive safeguarding response rooted in the public health ethos of early help, early intervention and prevention that incorporates and acknowledges the systemic predisposing preconditions for both victims and perpetrators and the duality of these roles. A safeguarding approach provides a wider perspective and insight into the situations and relationships in which CCE is likely to manifest. Contextual safeguarding brings in the role of the wider community, peers, social media, schools and non-formal education. It provides a comprehensive approach to understanding the risks beyond the home. It requires us to extend the focus of child protection thinking from the home to include the wider environment. The effect of this is to draw crime prevention and community safety approaches into safeguarding thinking and practice.