Over 200 children at risk of exploitation - Shropshire Council

Shropshire Council said its "approach and understanding of criminal exploitation of children has developed considerably"

Just over 200 Shropshire children have been identified as at risk of criminal exploitation, councillors heard.

Exploitation takes a variety of forms, including forcing children to sell drugs and child sexual exploitation, Shropshire Council said.

In 2022, a safeguarding partnership saw 121 new children who may be at risk referred to it.

The agencies involved have worked "very closely" to help identify those who may be at risk, the council said.

The Shropshire Safeguarding Community Partnership aims to reduce the risk young people face by stepping in to disrupt and stop contact with those exploiting the child and support the child targeted.

It includes a number of council services, police and schools working together to identify areas of risk.

Sonya Miller, assistant director for children's social care and safeguarding, said that in the county "we are working with and tracking 203 children and have done since January".

Twelve 'at high risk'

"Obviously those numbers vary on a sort of day-to-day basis," she said. "Each of those children is at a different varying level of risk, from vulnerable to being quite low risk, medium risk and sort of higher levels of risk.

"Currently we have 12 children identified that we would be extremely concerned about and they are probably actively being exploited."

Shropshire Council says partners reported the number of county lines gangs operating had reduced over the past year.

An Ofsted children's services inspection in 2022 stated the partnership working in Shropshire was effective at identifying those at risk, the council said.

In July, the council apologised for failings by its predecessor after a report found that more than 1,000 girls could have been abused over a decade in Telford.

The council said partners reported the number of county lines gangs operating had reduced over the past year.

Asked what high risk meant, Ms Miller said: "If [we] consider a young person to be at high risk of exploitation, then we know that they are actively being groomed and targeted and exploited by a perpetrating adult, probably in relation to something like drugs or sexual abuse.

"Usually it involves them building up a debt through kind of being given things like alcohol or drugs and then being beholden to that perpetrator."