Criminal gangs now pose bigger threat to Rotherham children than sexual exploitation, report warns
Criminal exploitation has overtaken sexual exploitation as the most common form of harm faced by vulnerable young people
Criminal exploitation now represents the majority of exploitation affecting children in Rotherham, according to the borough’s annual safeguarding report.
The Rotherham Safeguarding Children Partnership (RSCP) Annual Assurance Report for 2024/25 states that criminal exploitation has overtaken sexual exploitation as the most common form of harm faced by vulnerable young people, with far higher numbers of children identified as being at risk.
The partnership says data shows a continuing shift in the patterns of exploitation, with child sexual exploitation (CSE) stabilising while criminal exploitation (CCE) continues to rise. The report states: “We have seen CSE numbers and activity continue to stabilise whilst criminal exploitation continues to represent the greater proportion of exploitation in Rotherham. In addition, we are seeing a significant increase in online offences in line with the national picture.”
This is supported elsewhere in the document, which reports that out of 1,016 missing episodes involving children in 2024–25, 335 children were known to be at risk of criminal exploitation and 39 at risk of sexual exploitation. The partnership describes this as “demonstrating the prevalence of CCE for vulnerable children in the borough.”
To respond to the changing risks, the RSCP plans to introduce a new Harm Outside the Home pathway in May 2025, focusing on dangers in public places, neighbourhoods and peer groups, alongside ongoing work to disrupt individuals and groups suspected of exploiting children.
The report adds that the partnership had “strong foundations” and was continuing to challenge itself in “complex and changing times”, but warned that the nature of harm faced by children is evolving and requires a coordinated response from all agencies.