Exploring service outcomes for criminally exploited children: A study of service data in one Welsh local authority

• In Event: Advances in Quantitative Methods Panel 4: Quantifying Perceptions, Bias, and Crime-Cognition Links

Abstract

There are no exact figures regarding the number of criminally exploited young people in Wales (Maxwell & Wallace, 2021). This is due to inconsistencies in how criminal exploitation is defined in the United Kingdom (Marshall, 2023) and variations in service responses across sectors (Maxwell, 2022). There are a number of challenges in identifying, engaging and supporting criminally exploited children safely away from exploitative relationships (Lloyd et al., 2023). Systems that are set up to protect children from intra-familial harm and to pursue adult offenders need to adapt to tackle the issue of child criminal exploitation (CCE) (Firmin & Lloyd, 2022).
In this talk we present findings from a project examining the referral routes, service approaches, interventions and education, health, social care and offending outcomes for criminally exploited children in two local authorities in Wales. The project is unique not only in its focus on service outcomes, but also in the design which combines a case study approach with administrative data linkage and visual and descriptive exploration of the data.
We identified 162 young people who were flagged as being at risk of CCE in the two local authorities between January 2021 and January 2023. Two thirds of the young people were white and British, with most of them living with one or both parents. We found that missing episodes, additional learning needs, and sibling involvement in CCE, all potential indicators of exploitation, were poorly recorded. Furthermore, when young people moved between different local authorities, information often got lost; which is a systemic issue exploiters can take advantage of. Poor data quality relating minority ethnic children can hinder support for these young people and their families

Authors

• Ting Wang, Swansea University

• Roshan Toby, Swansea University

• Lois Liao, Cardiff University

• Dorottya Cserzo, Cardiff University

• Nina Maxwell, Cardiff University