A project that aims to protect and support children and young people at risk of sexual exploitation is being introduced across Fife.
Police Scotland and Barnardo’s Scotland have joined forces to develop the Reducing the Impact of Sexual Exploitation (RISE) programme, which has been running in Aberdeen and Dundee for the last two years.
Child sexual exploitation advisers from the charity will now work with police officers in Fife after a need for the RISE service was identified in the kingdom.
The team will help identify and stop perpetrators and their networks, protect current victims and prevent youngsters under the age of 18 from becoming victims by bringing together information.
Daljeet Dagon, Barnardo’s Scotland’s national programme manager for child sexual exploitation, said working in partnership with Police Scotland and sharing skills, knowledge and intelligence would allow authorities to respond more effectively to the issue across Fife.
“CSE advisers are working with Police Scotland in Glenrothes, supporting front line officers and other key agencies providing a coordinated response to CSE,” she said.
“Having CSE advisers co-located within police divisions, and embedded within local child protection arrangements, will help ensure that the right systems and supports are in place which identify and respond to child sexual exploitation and improve outcomes for vulnerable and at risk children and young people.”
RISE was independently evaluated by Stirling University, where academics found the advisers had played a vital role in improving collaboration and information sharing between agencies.
Detective Superintendent Elaine Galbraith, head of child protection with Police Scotland, said: “Building on our strong partnerships across public protection and working within communities to tackle child sexual abuse including CSE is key to raising public awareness and to preventing children and young people being sexually abused.
“CSE remains a complex issue with children often unaware that they are being targeted by predators.
“Therefore maximising opportunities to disrupt offending behaviour at an early stage is vital to protecting children and young people.
“Developing staff across all organisations to understand, recognise and act if they suspect a child is being sexually abused and/or exploited is a key factor in that early intervention and this has been such a positive feature of the work of the CSE advisers in Dundee and Aberdeen.”
