South East child cruelty offences rising, NSPCC warns

Children's charity the NSPCC looked at recorded cases of child cruelty over the last 10 years

The number of child cruelty offences in Kent rose sharply in the last year, according to police data collected by the NSPCC.

The charity said between April 2021 and March 2022 the county saw 386 offences, with 792 recorded for the same period the following year.

The numbers recorded in Surrey and Sussex both fell during that time, from 98 to 70 and 157 to 130 respectively.

The charity's chief executive said the figures were a "stark wake-up call".

The figures collected by the charity show that over the last decade, Kent has seen a 76% increase in child cruelty offences, with 3,677 recorded by Kent Police in total during that time.

In the same period in Sussex offences rose by 25%, while in Surrey they fell by 29%.

'Crisis point'

NSPCC chief executive Sir Peter Wanless said: "These latest figures are a stark wake-up call that our current system is struggling to prevent the horrifying abuse and neglect happening to some of the youngest and most vulnerable in our society.

"The government has pledged to reform the child protection system to provide earlier support for babies, children and young people and stop families' problems escalating to crisis point.

"The figures underline why it is urgent these changes are delivered at pace alongside significant investment."

The charity has asked the public to look out for the welfare of children and young people they may know and to contact the NSPCC helpline with any concerns.

A government spokesman said any instance of child cruelty was abhorrent, and perpetrators would face the full force of the law.

He said: "To transform the support for the most vulnerable children and families, we are working at pace to deliver ambitious and wide-ranging reforms, including introducing new, dedicated multi-agency child protection teams and creating a fostering recruitment and retention programme so foster care is available to more children.

"Spend on children's social care is now over £10 billion a year and rising, and we have invested £200m to implement our reforms."

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