On the 17th of January this year Mike and Bina were asked to attend a meeting with South Yorkshire Police to discuss a case of suspected CSE involving a 13 year old girl and a group of men.
The child had been moved to various locations during a week long missing episode.There were problems in evidencing some of the alleged sex offences. We explained the Human Trafficking legislation to the Senior Investigating Officer and her team and they all saw the advantages of using this legislation.
4 of the 5 suspects were charged with trafficking as well as other offences and they were all found guilty and received sentences from 3 to 12 years. The Jury took just 40 minutes to convict in respect of the trafficking charges.

In relation to the second case, Bina was asked by practitioners working in Sheffield to pull together a meeting which would be attended CPS, the SIO, Police and frontline workers involved in the case. This case related to a vulnerable young girl who was missing and also suspected to be a victim of CSE. A meeting took place on 9th April 2014 where the aim was for practitioners to understand why the case had collapsed and be clear that any further opportunities for investigation and care for the victim had or were being pursued. The meeting concluded with a view that similar meetings should be held for future cases so professionals involved in a case can be clear as to why particular decisions are made by CPS and other relevant authorities, as there was a view that often decisions such as these are not communicated to those that have dedicated their time and effort to that case.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04plc7h/police-under-pressure-3-sex-crime

These cases was featured in the BBC 2 documentary “Police under pressure: Sex Crimes” aired on 9th November 2014.  

Police under Pressure, 3. Sex Crime

http://www.bbc.co.uk

Officers in Sheffield investigate two separate incidents of missing girls.