Officers conduct Operation Makesafe - day of action around child exploitation in Plymouth
This Halloween’s eve, officers from the City Centre Neighbourhood Team conducted a day of action around a particularly ghastly topic - child exploitation.
Operation Makesafe, a national project to educate and prevent exploitation and grooming of young people, took place in Plymouth on Thursday 30 October.
Supported by the Neighbourhood Support Team and two student officers from patrol, education was given to the public during half term within Drakes Circus mall and at the Piazza.
Signs of exploitation and discussions around how grooming can begin were had with the public, as well as information about how to report this to the Police.
Later in the evening, Police Cadets assisted officers with a ‘test purchase’.
The 'test purchase' being a plain clothes operation to test our local hotel industry’s understanding of how to keep young people safe and when to report concerns to the Police if the situation doesn’t feel right.
An officer working with a police cadet, both in plain clothes, attended 12 hotels attempting to book a room with only a double bed for one night. The rooms were not pre-booked, requested to be paid for with cash, no ID was provided and neither officer or cadet carried any luggage.
Neighbourhood Beat Manager PC Mike Smith said: “The aim was to see if the staff at each of these hotels recognised these signs as concerning, and if staff challenged the relationship of the pair and contacted the Police via 999.
“Unfortunately, the results were haunting.
“Of the 12 hotels tested, only two challenged our officers about the relationship between them and the cadet, refusing to book the room.
“We won’t name these hotels as our plan is to work with them to improve… to educate, not embarrass.
“Whilst this was happening, uniformed officers and cadets engaged with taxi drivers and businesses in the city centre offering education on how to spot the signs of exploitation.
“Over the next few days, we’ll post about what signs to look out for to keep your loved ones safe. We’ll also detail the upcoming work we’re doing to protect our children and young people.”
More information about Op Makesafe can be found here: https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/police-forces/devon-cornwall-police/areas/campaigns/campaigns/operation-makesafe/
#OpMakesafe
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