Proactive Approach to Bristol Child Sexual Exploitation Pilot Team

1. Bristol Child Sexual Exploitation Pilot Team

2. Why establish a CSE Pilot Team? • On average it takes 18 months to 2 years to engage and secure a disclosure from victims of CSE – what happens in the mean time to that victim and others at risk? • SCRs, Inspections and Problem Profiles all concluded that identification of victims and information sharing processes required improvement • We were not consistently joining the dots between the pieces of intelligence that we were receiving and often it did not meet the threshold for PC, let alone DC review • We had no consistent, evidence-based identification and assessment process for potential victims and suspects of CSE • We lacked effective pre-disclosure disruption capacity and capability Where there is no evidential disclosure from a victim, use every opportunity to disrupt CSE suspects, secure evidence for future disclosures and safeguard victims.

3. What has been different about the Topaz Team? Our proactive approach to all CSE information shared with us through innovative… • Intelligence processing, assessment and prioritisation • Victim Identification and Engagement • Disruption This unique, joined up, consistent, approach to CSE allows Avon and Somerset Police & Partner Agencies to get ahead of the CSE Risk – to be PROACTIVE instead of purely, REACTIVE

4. Topaz Process

5. Risk Indicators Victim Risk Factors Subject Risk Factors LAC / Care Home Assault as victim or offender CSE Network Meeting Learning Difficulties Purchasing items for victims Previous violence offences Misper episodes over past 3 months Mental ill-health Linked to Parties Previous sex offences Troubled/chaotic family Sex offences Links to ASB Direct contact with offenders Gang Associations Congregating with YP Direct contact with victims Drugs Links to other CSE nominals Links to missing persons Previous links to drug offences Excluded/truanting Child carer Shoplifting or theft Previous CSE offences Gang/ OCG associations Police contact ASB Honour based violence Off district/trafficked Professional judgement Professional judgement

6. Intelligence processing, assessment and prioritisation • There was no existing cohort - inconsistent flagging of victims with no suspects linked to CSE. • Suspects were not linked to the victims, mentioned in OEL, misper debriefs or intelligence reports. • Identification of Topaz subjects had to be through the victims. • A ‘victim’ added to the list is an indication that they have a number of identified criteria that may put them at risk of CSE. • Development of risk assessment tool enabled Topaz to prioritise subjects and allow detailed analysis of previous risk factors

7. Multi-agency working to support victims Closer working relationships with partners with shared flagging of young people at risk of CSE between ASC, Bristol CSC and BASE and sharing of the victim and subject list with other partners, leading to an increase in CSE intelligence and a much more joined up approach. BASE Perfect Storm of Vulnerability Factors… Physiological, chemical and hormonal changes to the brain leading to increased susceptibility to peer pressure and increased risk taking behaviour. Topaz Victim Contact Officer regularly co-locating at BASEpremises and engaging the girls in a familiar, non-police setting. Frank and honest conversations. Complete separation of the roles of Victim Contact Officer and Disruption Officer. Chaotic lifestyle and/or limited parental awareness and understanding leading to limited protective factors. ! # ? # ! ? Increased sexualised content, and role models; social media; and easier access to pornography.

8. Disruption Inter-departmental days of action Issued 2 CSE Letters Attended 32 Strategy Meetings / CPCs 18 Statements taken Asking the right questions Digging a little deeper Co-ordinated tactics against Subjects & Locations CAWNs Thinking outside the box: Road traffic offences Drug offences Parent Information Packs CSE Letters Co-ordinated disruption with Trading Standards / Housing / Environmental Health and the Borders Agency 3 Referrals to other forces Issued 8 CAWNs Disruption Toolkit 19 Parents and young people provided safeguarding advice Provided assistance and advice to other teams 10 Arrests 2 Warrants 2 identified OCGs 3 SRO applications 8 ABEs / Medicals

9. Topaz Case Study Investigation into the rape of a 14 year old victim by a 19 year old had been NFA’d due to a lack of disclosure or victim engagement. When Topaz reviewed the case and issued a CAWN they were made aware of a new ‘boyfriend’ from S. Yorkshire thought to be aged 18. Hundreds of text messages were found between the victim and the ‘boyfriend’ and enquiries revealed he was 29 years old and using a false name. The victim then agreed to engage with BASE and Topaz but not disclose. S. Yorkshire CSET refused to progress without a disclosure, so rather than file and await a disclosure, as it was clear the victim was being groomed, due to the proactive agenda of the Topaz Model, a decision was made to travel to S. Yorkshire and arrest the Subject purely based on the large number of messages. The VCO met with the victim at the same time to explain the reasons for the arrest, thus preserving the relationship. Topaz made further enquiries which revealed the subject was a RSO under a false name following a conviction for indecent exposure towards 14 years olds. A phone download of the Subject’s mobile showed hundreds of contacts with young girls and indecent images including images of a contact offence. Victims were identified aged 13 to 15 located in Scotland, West Midlands, South Wales and Hampshire. The Subject has been indicted for 28 charges from ‘sexual activity with a child’ to ‘grooming’ and ‘indecent images’ for 4 children including the victim. The trial is set for 2nd January 2018.

10. Topaz Case Study Bristol CSC raised concerns about a ‘family friend’ of the same 14 year old. With no evidence of any offences this would normally not have been progressed, however due to the proactive approach of Topaz, when the ‘family friend’ bought the Victim a mobile, Topaz asked for the old phone and found pictures of the Victim and Subject cuddling and messages from him asking her for photos of the Victim in the bath. The Subject was arrested for ‘sexual activity with a child’ and ‘sexual communication with a child’ which enabled the team to take penile swabs. The decision to arrest for sexual activity is an example of Topaz maximising disruption opportunities based on their knowledge of CSE. The victim was distressed by the arrest but the VCO was able to invest in and maintain the positive relationship throughout both investigations. The Subject was charged with ‘sexual communication with a child’ and ‘attempting to incite sexual activity’, however Topaz continued to pursue further lines of enquiry and applied for an SRO. A Facebook account for the Subject was found with almost a 1000 teenage girls as friends. A cup was covertly seized to obtain the Victim’s DNA to compare with the penile swabs, however the results were inconclusive. However, later three pairs of the victim’s knickers were provided by the mother, who had also been building a relationship with the VCO, and the Subject’s semen was found. On 15th September 2017 the Subject pleaded guilty to ‘sexual activity with a child’, ‘attempting to incite sexual activity’ and ‘sexual communication with a child’.

12. Resources versus outcomes… Topaz ways of working… During the first 6 months of the pilot… Resources: 1 DS, 1DC, 1PC, 1 VCO, 1 Analyst 194 victims 132 suspects 49 locations 38 suspects disrupted 11 ABEs 10 arrests 2 suspects charged with 31 offences 8 CAWNs (and a further 3 in progress) 3 SROs in progress Previous ways of working… In Bristol in 2016 we were running 4 CSE Operations Resources: 1 DI, 3 DS, 16 DC, 2 PC, 1 MCIO, 1 Indexer and 2 Staff 27 victims 31 suspects 4 suspects disrupted (charged for other offences) 8 suspects charged with CSE related-offences 1 suspect cautioned

13. Next steps for CSE? Review and improve the context within which Topaz disruption operates: • Review CSE processes across Avon and Somerset and implement Topaz best practice • Increase understanding and indicators for specific CSE victim groups: i.e. male victims; victims with learning difficulties and additional needs; and BME victims • Complete retrospective analysis to determine the scale and nature of each CSE offender cohort: i.e. peer-on-peer; inappropriate relationship; boyfriend model; gang sexual exploitation; sexual exploitation by people in a position of power; and OCGs and trafficking. Prevention Identification Treatment Offender Management Early Intervention Investigation Victim Support & Safeguarding Prosecution An end-to-end multi-agency evidence-based CSE Strategy.

14. What about other areas of vulnerability? Standard, responsive model of policing: Crime reported  officer responds  crime recorded  crime investigated  offender identified  offender charged  offender prosecuted Some crime types and victims don’t fit neatly into this model: e.g. Rape and SSO, Domestic Abuse, CSE, FGM, HBA, Modern Slavery These are some of our most vulnerable victims and are high THR crimes so require a different approach Don’t recognise themselves as victims Not able to report Don’t trust police Ashamed or reluctant to re-live the experience Too scared to report Don’t want police interference

15. The Topaz model can act as a supplementary mechanism to allow us to better identify and manage risk; focusing on disruption and safeguarding opportunities to protect victims and the community when our ‘normal’ responsive model isn’t fit for purpose… • Identify and assess risk indicators to identify victims and offenders without the need for disclosure • Engage and empower victims to report when they’re ready • Identify disruptive opportunities to reduce risk posed by offenders until victims make a disclosure

16. The Topaz Team sits within our current Operating Model to add an additional layer of risk identification and management Partners Safeguarding Information Sharing TRAP Scored Tier 1/2/3 Victim Offender Intelligence Tier 1 Offender Tier 1 Victim VCO allocated to engage victim Neighbourhood Teams SCU Investigator allocated to identify all possible disruption opportunities Safeguarding threshold met Strategy Discussion Disclosure Assist with disruptive action e.g. arrest CSE offender for drugs offence ABE Interview Investigations e.g. CSE Investigation