Met Police reviewing 9,000 grooming cases over 15 years

Met Police reviewing 9,000 grooming cases over 15 years

The Metropolitan Police has disclosed that they are currently reviewing a staggering 9,000 cases of child sexual exploitation. The force revealed that these cases span various settings, including intra-familial, peer-on-peer, institutional, and others not typically associated with grooming gangs. This review comes in the wake of a national examination into group-based child sexual exploitation, which uncovered a more widespread, organized, and underreported issue than previously acknowledged.

Baroness Casey’s report, the National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, highlighted a disparity in how the Metropolitan Police and local authorities document child abuse cases. The report, released in June, also noted that authorities have avoided addressing the ethnicity of individuals involved. Scotland Yard recently commented that group-based offending has a severe impact on the children affected and acknowledged the need for better identification and investigation of such crimes.

Since 2022, the Met has implemented significant improvements in identifying and investigating group-based offending, including training for frontline officers and expanding child exploitation teams. The force reported that in the past year, they have successfully resolved three times more cases of child sexual exploitation, leading to the charging of 134 additional suspects. The commitment to protecting victims and ensuring perpetrators are held accountable remains unwavering for the Metropolitan Police.

The cases under review by the Met span a 15-year period, coinciding with the timeline covered in Baroness Casey’s report. A spokesperson for Sir Sadiq Khan emphasized the importance of transparency in investigating these crimes and ensuring that no stone is left unturned. The Mayor’s office condemned those who exploit children for sex, asserting that they must face the full consequences of the law. The spokesperson expressed disappointment in the authorities for failing to protect these vulnerable children from harm

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