Research on grooming gangs backed by Telford councillor
Prevention of sex crimes against children relies on getting an accurate picture of the type of offenders, a Telford councillor has said.
Nicola Lowery, ward member for the Ironbridge Gorge, backed plans by Home Secretary Sajid Javid to research the ethnic origin of sexual grooming gangs.
She said the plans were an important step forward to ensure a more targeted approach from police.
The commitment to do more research comes after calls by Labour MP for Rotherham Sarah Champion, chairwoman of a cross-party working group of MPs who represent constituencies affected by grooming and child sexual exploitation.
Councillor Lowery said: "This research will assist in developing a typology of child sexual offending to identify the similarities and differences between child sexual exploitation by organised networks and other types of offending.
“There have been similarities across the country and patterns of behaviour in cases of child sexual exploitation and this needs to better understood in addition to continued research into the characteristics of offenders in Telford.
"If we are to ever understand how these horrendous crimes can be prevented both in Telford and nationally we must work together to ensure we understand the wider context of abuse and exploitation to enable the law to protect our communities.
"This commitment into the research is from the hard work by Sarah Champion MP and many who have fought for a a more in-depth understanding of the particular characteristics and contexts associated with this type of offending as it is an extremely complex topic."
