Teaching professionals about Violence Intimidation Persuasion and Aggression

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has produced a film to raise awareness of ‘on street’ child sexual exploitation (CSE) among professionals.

The film, entitled ‘Can you stop it’ and launched at City Hall in London on October 2, focuses on how perpetrators establish and maintain control over their victims and offers practical advice and information allowing professionals to understand, recognise and intervene where they suspect offences are taking place.

It includes an animated section describing the three main roles played by groomers, seen from the point of view of the perpetrators; the hook – a member of the group who acts as the initial point of contact, luring the victim in before passing them onto other individuals; “the predator” – an older individual who invariably has a sexual interest in young girls and will carry out the offences; and “the co-ordinator” – who is responsible for the logistics, but often involved in the abuse.

The animated section of the film is interspersed with interviews with a victim of CSE, as well as numerous experts explaining different elements of the grooming process.

The video identifies a commonly used tactic of letting the victim build up a debt of drugs or alcohol and using the combination of the debt and fear to ensure the continuation of the abuse. It also gives a pneumonic for professionals to remember some of the methods used – VIPA: Violence Intimidation Persuasion and Aggression.

Research by professionals in this field, such as criminologist Dr Graham Hill, who appears in the video, has identified that perpetrators can offend alone or with others and that their offending is pre-meditated and semi-organised. They are usually acquaintances of their victims and can be relatives.

Dr Hill said: “As a criminologist I appreciate the importance of understanding perpetrator behaviour, you cannot effectively intervene in a process you are not aware of and do not understand.”

“‘Can you stop it?’ aims to raise awareness of how perpetrators target, control and transport their victims. The hope is that by raising awareness among professionals working with children, they will be better able to identify and intervene early to stop children and young people from becoming victims.”

Detective Superintendent Terry Sharpe, who leads the MPS response to CSE, said: “We commissioned this film with the aim of continuing to raise awareness in the public arena about how to recognise the signs of CSE, and with a view to increasing understanding and recognition to allow practitioners to intervene before the abuse takes place.

“The MPS is committed to tackling the issue of CSE head on and has already achieved much success. The launch of Operation Makesafe earlier this year saw hoteliers and taxi drivers educated in the warning signs of CSE. All frontline officers have also received training in this area and every borough has a dedicated officer within the sexual exploitation team to provide specialist advice and assistance where needed.”

Between April 2014 and March 2015, 1,185 children were identified as being at risk of CSE.

The film can be accessed via YouTube.