'Concerns' Barnsley 'has the potential' to become South Yorkshire's new grooming capital
It's following new figures released by South Yorkshire Police
There are fears Barnsley could end up as the 'new grooming capital of South Yorkshire'.
New figures from South Yorkshire Police suggests the town had more cases of child sexual exploitation than Sheffield, Rotherham & Doncaster - in the first 6 months of this year.
Sammy Woodhouse was a victim of CSE growing up in Rotherham as a teenager.
She now campaigns to try & raise awareness around the issue:
"We have to start and realise that children are being abused in every town & city across our country.
"We're not taking this seriously enough & children are being failed.
"It's happening on the streets, it's happening in homes, and it's happening online.
"Many people think because we've exposed places like Rotherham, Rochdale, Telford, and Oxford, that all of a sudden this has stopped.
"Unfortunately, it hasn't - it's as rife now as what it's always been, if not worse.
"It leaves you feeling angry that children are still being exploited in 2023.
"We've just got to try & tackle it as much as we possibly can, but the truth is, not enough is being done to prevent it.
"Children aren't just being groomed for sexual exploitation, children are also being groomed for criminal exploitation, and I don't think this is highlighted enough."
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Magnay, Child Sexual Exploitation lead for South Yorkshire Police said:
“Our approach to safeguarding children and investigating reports of exploitation has advanced beyond recognition since the Jay Report in 2014.
"We now operate with specialist multi-agency teams in each district of South Yorkshire, working with local authorities, support agencies and charities.
"Officers in these teams lead targeted police activity, direct investigations, identify vulnerable children and young people, and crucially support and safeguard victims and survivors.
“There has been an increase in the number of reported incidents of potential child exploitation in recent years.
"A significant proportion of the increase can be attributed to more accurate data recording, a rise in public trust and confidence in us leading to more engagement with victims and the public, and the deployment of specialist teams to identify and safeguard those potential victims of exploitation.
“While on the surface it may look like a cause for concern, we view this increase as a positive outcome of our targeted actions. For example, our dedicated child exploitation campaign, which launched earlier this year and is supported by victims and survivors, aimed to boost public awareness of the signs of child exploitation and has successfully resulted in increased reporting.
"We also introduced dedicated child exploitation teams in Doncaster and Barnsley in the last six months, which have allowed us to bolster our existing activities in the area, which has led to increased reporting.
“Reporting concerns for a child to the police means we can investigate, assess the risk early and implement appropriate safeguard measures to prevent exploitation before it happens. If you are concerned about a child you know, and suspect they may be being exploited, please report to us so we can help.
"Even the smallest suspicion could mean they are at risk. And, if you think you are being exploited, please know it is not your fault. It is only ever the offender who is to blame. Please report to us so we can help keep you safe.”