Nottinghamshire Police ask hospitality workers to protect children
They are educating hotels, bar staff, and taxi drivers on how to spot signs of child abuse and exploitation.
Last updated 15th Dec 2024
Nottinghamshire Police have been talking to hotels, bar staff and taxi drivers this week about how to spot signs of suspicious behaviour around young people.
Members of the service's Child at Risk of Exploitation Team are making visits as part of Operation Makesafe – a nationwide initiative to protect vulnerable young people from harm.
Hospitality workers are being urged to follow their instincts and report personal interactions that look or feel wrong.
Detective Sergeant Adam Taylor, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“I believe that people generally have very good instincts about situations that don’t look or feel right, so this initiative is mainly about empowering them to act on those feelings by sharing some of the key warning signs with them.
They have advised key warning signs include nervous looking young people in the company of older men, short notice bookings, guests with no luggage and suspicious activity in and around bedrooms.
“These are all classic signs of child exploitation and it’s important that our hotel workers, taxi drivers, bar staff and others likely to come into contact with exploited children are aware of them and feel confident to act.
“Sometimes there may be a perfectly innocent explanation, but if we can protect even one vulnerable young person from harm this initiative will have been worthwhile.”
Ellie Sherrocks is a Area Venue Manager for the Lace Market Hotel in Nottingham. She says it can be difficult for hotel staff to protect young people from abuse and exploitation: "It can put staff in a bit of a difficult position because you don't want to presume certain things about people that are checking in. It can be hard to identify initially if something suspicious is happening.
"You don't want to make judgements that might be wrong so it can be difficult to put that responsibility on inexperienced staff."
Nottinghamshire Police encourage anyone who has concerns to call them immediately via 101 or 999.