Child Exploitation Pathway
To contact the Be Safe team for advice please use the email address: BeSafe@plymouth.gov.uk
Or to refer a young person to Multi-Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) Panel complete the Referral Form
Child Exploitation Risk Threshold Indicator
Running Away/Going Missing
Regularly coming home later than their agreed time.
Absent without permission.
Returning late to care home.
Absent from school.
Whereabouts often unknown.
Frequently staying out overnight without permission.
Episodes of running away, missing from home or missing from placement.
Looking well cared for despite having no known base.
Regular breakdowns of placement due to behavioural problems.
Persistently running away, going missing from home or placement.
Pattern of street homelessness.
Whereabouts often unknown or of significant concern, talks about and/or is known to travel to different areas or cities.
Coercion/Control
Recent change in peer group.
Reduced contact with family and friends.
Late night phone/internet contact
Secretive about having a mobile phone or more than one.
Extensive use of mobile phone/internet.
Late night phone/internet contact.
Limited contact with family/friends.
A sense of urgency about needing to be elsewhere.
Secretive about having a mobile phone/more than one phone.
Disclosure of or police intelligence regard physical/sexual assault followed by withdrawn allegation or being reluctant to report.
No contact with family/friends.
Disappear from system (no contact with support systems).
Disclosure of or police intelligence relating to county lines/gang activity involvement or links, talks about having drug debts and an urgent need for money.
Family report hostile acquaintances coming to the door or telephoning/messaging and making threats.
A significant sense of urgency about needing to be elsewhere.
Evidence of grooming/coercion/exploitation/victim of trafficking.
Contact With Abusive Persons and/or
Risky Environments
Some association with unknown adults and/or other exploited children and/or missing children.
Some association with gang and County Lines-involved adults or peers
Associating with unknown adults and/or other exploited children/young people and/or missing children.
Information and Police Intelligence suggesting involvement in exploitation.
Spending time in areas where exploitation has taken place.
Associating with possible County Lines or gang members.
Getting into cars with unknown adults or suspected perpetrators of CCE/CSE.
New or expensive possessions which cannot be accounted for.
Access to cash/money, spending time in areas where drug activity is known to take place or fearful of going to certain areas.
Identifying as a gang member or involved in County Line activity.
Found in areas/properties known for drug activity.
Evidence or police intelligence to suggest changing locations for criminal activity.
Abducted and forced imprisonment (described by young person as “locked in”).
Substance Misuse
Experimenting with alcohol and/or cannabis.
Associating with young people known to use illicit substances regularly.
Regular use of or recent increase in use of illicit substances.
Use of drugs in addition to alcohol and/or cannabis (e.g. MDMA, cocaine).
Concerns for drug dependency.
Associating with known drug dealers.
Seen in known areas for selling drugs.
Seen associating with young people who are running and believed to be being exploited and involved in supply lines.
Being given substances as a part of the grooming process.
Evidence of dependency on alcohol and/or drugs.
Using opiates (e.g. heroin, codeine, methadone). Injecting of any substance.
Dealing of substances.
Found in areas/properties known for drug activity.
Supply of substances to others.
Engaging in criminal activity to pay off debts, for example drug debt.
Known to be actively involved in networks that run drug supply lines.
Being given substances as a part of exploitation.
Education
Mainly engaged in education, employment or training.
Some attendance and/or behaviourial issues.
Poor educational achievement.
Some periods of exclusion.
Irregular/poor attendance/truanting from school.
Losing interest in education.
Periods of exclusion(s)/modified time table.
Whereabouts during school hours are unknown.
Poor educational achievement.
Attending alternative provisions.
Not in education, training or employment (NEET).
Regular breakdown of school placements due to behavioural needs. Whereabouts during school hours unknown and information suggesting links to criminal activity/County Lines or gangs.
Poor educational achievement.
Use of Social Media/Technology
Talking to or communicating with unknown adults/peers via the internet.
Lack of awareness of online safety (young people and parents/carers).
Use of internet to share inappropriate or sexual images.
Meeting adults or peers in person following contact via social media.
Concerns a young person may be being groomed.
Extensive/secretive use of internet.
Information on social media platforms indicating potential grooming/ coercion/exploitation.
Use of internet to regularly meet risky adults/peers in person.
Evidence of bullying through social media/internet.
Evidence of harmful material being shared online.
Accessing material relating to group violence/drill music material and incorporating this into their day to day lives.
For more information on drill music check out this link culture-of-drill-music
Emotional & Physical Health inc. Sexual Health
Low self-esteem.
Some concerns of self-harm and/or eating disorders.
Difficulty in making or maintaining friendships with peers.
Low self-esteem impacting upon the young person’s mental health.
Increased concerns of self-harm.
Violent/emotional outbursts or bullying or threatening behaviour.
Engaging in low-level criminal activity.
Difficulty in making or maintaining friendships with peers.
Concerns young person may be exposed to violence.
Changes to physical appearance, presentation and/or significant weight loss/gain.
Chronic low self-esteem.
Changes or extremes in mental health.
Suicidal ideation.
Evidence of emotional abuse from violence, as witness or victim.
Evidence of self-harm, eating disorders, previous suicide attempts or overdoses.
Frequent attendance at A&E and/or sexual health services.
Physical symptoms suggestive of sexual or physical assault including Plugging/Stuffing/Banking to conceal and transport drugs.
Unplanned pregnancy or pregnancies (including ending in termination/miscarriage).
Increased sexually transmitted infections and/or increased testing.
Repeat requests for emergency contraception.
Accommodation and Family Relationships
Accommodation generally meets the needs of a young person.
Support available from family, parent and/or carer.
Communication within home environment is good.
Known peers/older sibling involved in drug distribution, County Lines and/or criminal gangs.
Overcrowding.
Living with other young people who are considered to be at risk of exploitation.
Evidence of decline in relationship and/or communication with family, parent and/or carer.
Known peers/older siblings who are suspected to have County Lines debts. Lack of parental supervision or interest in the young person.
Experiencing homelessness or sofa-surfing.
Young person often absent from home for long periods of time.
Unable to trust/maintain relationships.
Family, friends and/or peers are known or suspected perpetrators of exploitation.
Parent is unavailable to them physically or emotionally.
Offending/Criminal Activity
Becoming known to police.
Concerns about being involved with or witnessing offending behaviour. Association with peers who are in possession of drugs.
Talking about or considering carrying weapons.
Known to be involved in or police intelligence suggests involvment in drug related activity.
Arrested by the police, investigated and/or charged with offences such as possession of an offensive weapon, possession of drugs and/or theft.
Known to be connected with drug distribution networks.
Significant intelligence indicating/charged or convicted of robbery/use of offensive weapon/ possessions of large quantities of drugs.
Known to be active with drug distribution networks and/or recruiting others to run drugs over County Lines or other links to organised crime.
Witnesses withdrawing statements and/or suspected witness intimidation.
Disclosure of criminal/sexual exploitation or assault.
Community/Social Isolation Factors
Is the young person vulnerable to or experiencing low levels of social isolation that may be exacerbated as a result of:
– Deprivation (including a perceived inability or reluctance to access more mainstream support)
– Ethnicity/ cultural background/cultural dissonance
– Being a Child Looked After
– Identifying/exploring as Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay or Transgender (LBGT)
– Special Educational Needs (SEND)/ Poor educational achievement or other factors?
Some protective community factors present and support evident.
Is the young person experiencing moderate levels of social isolation that may be exacerbated by:
– Deprivation (including a perceived inability or reluctance to access more mainstream support)
– Ethnicity/ cultural background/cultural dissonance
– Being a Child Looked After
– Identifying/exploring as Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay or Transgender (LBGT)
– Special Educational Needs (SEND)/ Poor educational achievement or other factors?
Some community protective factors are present but the young person is reluctant to access them.
Starting to socialise with or take an interest in pro- offending groups.
Aspires to be part of a local gang or anti-social group.
Is the young person experiencing high levels of social isolation that may be exacerbated by:
– Deprivation (including a perceived inability or reluctance to access more mainstream support)
– Ethnicity/ cultural background/cultural dissonance
– Being a Child Looked After
– Identifying/exploring as Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay or Transgender (LBGT)
– Special Educational Needs (SEND)/ Poor educational achievement or other factors?
Are being targeted by groups or individuals due to their vulnerability.
Is seeking inclusion/recognition from pro-offending peers or communities. Lack of community protective factors or disengagement by young person. Known to be an active participant in a local gang or anti-social group.
