Commissioner urges us all to #LookCloser and report child exploitation

Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire John Dwyer is supporting the #LookCloser campaign, urging members of the public to look out for signs and report child exploitation.

The fortnight-long campaign beginning today, 7 March 2022, is designed to raise awareness and public knowledge of child exploitation and encourage reporting of the issue.  

John Dwyer, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, said: “Children and young people are some of the most vulnerable people in society. They are most at risk of victimisation, particularly when the crime involves coercion or manipulation such as child exploitation or county lines drug activity. 

“Raising awareness of the signs of this type of crime is vitally important. It can often be under-reported due to the secretive nature of the tactics used by offenders.  

“In my Police and Crime Plan, it’s a priority of mine to protect vulnerable and at-risk people. This includes children, young people and adults at risk of exploitation and it’s one of the reasons I’m backing this campaign and urging everyone to #LookCloser. By all working together we can help protect children and young people and bring offenders to justice.” 

Signs of child exploitation 

The signs of child exploitation are: 

• A young person travelling alone, particularly in school hours, late at night or frequently 
• A young person looking lost, or they are in unfamiliar surroundings 
• A young person displaying behaviours that make you worry about them, for example anxiety, anger or being frightened 
• A young person being in possession of more than one mobile phone 
• A young person carrying lots of cash, or appearing to live above their means and have the latest gadget or clothes 
• A young person who is potentially under the influence of drugs or alcohol 
• A young person being instructed or controlled by another individual 
• A young person who is accompanied by individual(s) who are older than them 
• A young person seen begging in a public space 

If you have any concerns, you can call the police on 101 or in an emergency dial 999. Alternatively, you can contact the British Transport Police on 61016 or report concerns anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 

More information about the #LookCloser campaign can be found on the Children’s Society website:

www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/child-criminal-exploitation-and-county-lines/spotting-signs