In Blackburn with Darwen, CROP works in conjunction with ENGAGE – an award-winning specialist multi-agency team dedicated to stopping sexual exploitation.

About ENGAGE

Operation ENGAGE was set up in 2005 as a police-led project comprising a single constable and one social work manager. It was designed to investigate why the Lancashire Police Eastern Division had the highest rates of children being reported missing and to identify the underlying causes. Information gathered from the children indicated a clear link between missing children, violence, crime and sexual abuse being perpetrated against them by adults.

In 2008, the multi-agency ENGAGE team was formed with the twin aim of protecting children from sexual exploitation and increasing the number of successful prosecutions against perpetrators.

Multi-agency team

The team consists of staff from several agencies including:

• a social work manager (Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council);
• a social worker (Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council);
• a children’s worker (Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council);
• two administrative assistants (Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council);
• a detective sergeant (Lancashire Constabulary);
• two detective constables (Lancashire Constabulary);
• a specialist nurse (NHS);
• a sexual health worker (Brook Advisory Service);
• a drugs and alcohol worker (Lifeline);
• two children’s workers (Barnado’s);
• parent support worker (CROP).

ENGAGE’s principles

ENGAGE’s work is based on the three ‘Ps’ with the purpose of promoting a seamless, sustainable problem-solving approach that wraps around the children to protect them from themselves and from others:

• Prevention;
• Protection;
• Prosecution.

ENGAGE’s success

Since its inception agencies have been referring children to the team: 80 children have been drawn away from child sexual exploitation, and their take up of other agencies’ services has increased with many returning to school. Gathering intelligence on the activities of perpetrators has also improved. Prior to ENGAGE there was only one successful conviction of an offender but in 2008–09 there was a total of 100 offences cited against 36 individuals with a conviction rate of 90 per cent.

Nature of CROP’s work in Blackburn

A CROP parent support worker provides one-to-one support to parents and runs parent support groups for affected families. With an emphasis on securing convictions, much of the work is fast paced and involves guiding families through the prosecution and court processes.