According to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, external, systematic grooming and sexual abuse of children by groups of offenders in cities and towns of England and Wales is "widespread".

For Avon and Somerset Police spotting at risk children early on and intervening is a key priority.

Androulla (Andri) Nicolaou, is prevention officer for child sexual and criminal exploitation at the force.

Part of her work is building awareness about the issue by visiting children's homes, schools and youth clubs.

Earlier this month she hosted an information stand at Motion night-club in Bristol to help educate bouncers, barmen and club-owners about spotting the signs of CSE- as it is known by professionals in the field.

She said: "Clubs and bars have a major role to play in case children come in with the perpetrators and they need to see the signs and know what they are going to do.

"I want them to look out for children who feel uncomfortable, young children with a lot of adults, children who drink alcohol and adults who let them."

Leighton Deburca set up Nitewatch and says protecting children from harm is one of the four licensing objectives in Bristol.

They help educate doormen and bar owners about children on the streets at night who could be at risk.

He said: "Sharing information is vital as we function 12 hours of the day so while everyone else is in an office or a school, we are the ones who will see them trying to sneak in with their fake IDs."

In just one day, on Saturday 26 January, Avon and Somerset Police has reported:

• 82 occurrences of crime
• 60 custody records
• 9 burglaries
• 16 missing persons
• 1 theft from a vehicle
• 16 incidents of domestic abuse

This week we continue looking behind the scenes at the workings of Avon and Somerset Police.

We'd love to know how you feel about policing in your area.

Is there a visible police presence in your neighbourhood? Is there a lot of crime?

Have you been a victim of crime and if so how did you feel the officers handled it?

Tweet us with your experiences using #onthebeat to @BBCBristol.

A change in call centre strategy has transformed Avon and Somerset Police's ability to respond to emergency calls.

They were previously one of the worst performing police forces for response times and satisfaction.

Now they are being courted as an example of how to work in a different way.

Becky Tipper is centre manager for the control room at Avon and Somerset Police HQ in Portishead:

Call handler Ashton Lucey is one of Avon an Somerset Police force's staff answering frantic calls from members of the public each day.

She has talked to victims of domestic violence and suicidal people in the past but says the key is to be human and find common ground with them "so they don't feel they're talking to a robot".

Becky Tipper, centre manager for the control room at Avon and Somerset Police HQ in Portishead, says: "Quiet moments just don't happen any more, it's 24-7, seven days a week.

"We have to be ready for whatever challenge is thrown at us next.

"We are experiencing a lot of people in mental health crisis that are missing or there's a concern for their safety.

"The team here will deal with numerous suicidal calls every week.

"We need to make sure we do the best we can to try and engage with them and protect them while we get police resources out to them."

In just one day, on Friday 25 January, Avon and Somerset Police has reported:

• 38 occurrences of crime
• 66 custody records
• 22 missing persons
• 7 domestic abuse occurrences

Data analytics has transformed Avon and Somerset Police force's ability to respond to crime in the region.

They were previously one of the worst performing police forces for response times and customer satisfaction.

But a new computer system means everyone in the force can now see - real time - where hotspots are and what level of need is required.

But does the computer-driven strategy take the human element away from the community's needs?

Becky Tipper is centre manager for the control room at Avon and Somerset Police HQ in Portishead:

Avon and Somerset Police say they are at tipping point

The most recent crime figures show that crime is going up and there are 655 less police officers on the beat since 2010.

There may be less bobbies physically out on the beat but the force says predictive policing and the use of smart data is helping to save man hours, even if it is still stretched to breaking point.

But how do you think the police are doing in your area?

Get in touch with us via Twitter @BBCBristol using the hashtag #onthebeat

Today as part of our week behind the scenes with Avon and Somerset Police, we visit their communication centre where 999 (emergency) calls and 101 (non-emergency calls) are handled.

In the past two years Avon and Somerset Police has gone from being one of the worst-performing forces for how long it takes to answer 999 calls to the best.

It now has a 99.9% answer rate on 999 calls answered within 10 seconds and even helps other over-stretched forces when they are experiencing high call rates.

They take on average 2,000 101 calls a day, especially in the summer months, and around 700 999 calls a day.

Becky Tipper, centre manager for the control room at Avon and Somerset Police HQ in Portishead, says this is partly down to improved data systems and partly down to a different resourcing strategy.

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Avon and Somerset Chief Constable talks to BBC correspondent Charlotte Callen about county lines, knife crime and the yet-to-be-agreed precept increase.

He says the police face "significant changes" but says it is possible there could be 100 extra officers soon.

Learning from mistakes: the Avon and Somerset force commits to improvements

Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Andy Marsh talks about the promise he made to murder victim, Bijan Ebrahimi's sisters.

Avon and Somerset Police force is seen as a pioneer in the way it uses technology, pooling data to map crime hotspots and offender risk.

For Sgt Chris Leadbeater, pooling data each morning enables him to decide the force's priorities for the day.

But common sense and officer experience will sometimes mean working against the data rather than with it.

The force's business intelligence manager Jonathan Dowey says the use of data analytics helps officers "make the best policing decisions hour to hour".

"If I'm an officer returning to work after a break, I can use the data to get a real-time view of what's been happening on my patch, burglary hotspots, who's come into custody, missing people."

The way that the data is collated means officers can predict what times of day or year the force will be most in demand.

Mr Dowey added: "We don't want to be attending the same sort of incidents day after day, we want to problem solve them and prevent them.

"What we are not doing here is automating policing, instead we are empowering and augmenting police officers - giving them accurate and timely data to support their decisions.

"We're not trying to take the decision-making away from officers but we are making them more informed."

• Since 2010, £78m of the police budget has been taken away due to government spending cuts, with police officer numbers falling by 655. That figure is around 26% of the force's budget nine years ago
• The force's total budget for 2018-19 is £284.5m, equating to a spend of £780 per day or £32,500 per hour
• The force currently employs 2,651 officers, 2,393 other staff and 341 Police Community Support Officers

Image source, Getty Images

Avon and Somerset Police is using 60 apps to prevent crime - here's a look at the ones police officers uses in their daily work:

• a demand management app which creates a profile based on what people and places are driving the most demand on the service in their area, the cost of that, how many policing hours it is taking up

• a persistent callers app for people who keep dialling 999 and 101 and clogging up the lines. Data helps understand what they're doing and why in a bid to free up call handler time

• an offender management app which monitors and tracks offender risk, past patterns of offence and profiles

• a supervisor app which gives managers a sense of their team's workload so resources can be redistributed accordingly.

A police force has rolled out 60 apps to help prevent crime amid a drop in budgets and officer numbers.

Avon and Somerset Police has been using predictive data to anticipate crime hotspots and tackle repeat offenders.

Its chief constable said officers faced a "blizzard of demand" daily but use of technology had led to a reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour.

Tap here for more on this story.

When the Philip K Dick novel The Minority Report was turned into a film starring Tom Cruise came out in 2002, it featured a 'pre-crime' unit who detected murders before they happened.

Then, the film's dystopian vision of a future world where predictive technology did the bulk of policing work seemed impossible.

But now, in a time of stringent budget cuts, many police forces throughout the UK depend on software which tries to determine which city areas are prone to crime.

The computer program analyses police activities, aggregating huge amounts of information, from past and present crime records to real-time data from police patrols.

ACC Caroline Peters leads the Pacesetter meeting explains how valuable the tool is...

As we kick off our week working behind the scenes with Avon and Somerset Police, we are looking for your experiences about policing where you are.

Since 2010 Avon and Somerset has 655 fewer police officers on the beat but they say their use of new technology and data is helping them use resources more efficiently.

But how do you feel about policing in your area?

Have you been a victim of crime recently?

Tweet us with your experiences using #onthebeat to @BBCBristol., external