Child exploitation and cuckooing to be made criminal offences

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Child exploitation and cuckooing to be made criminal offences

Child criminal exploitation and “cuckooing” are set to become specific criminal offences as part of new legislation being introduced to Parliament next week.

The Crime and Policing Bill will also include measures that could see restriction orders put on people thought to be at risk of exploiting children for criminal means.

Cuckooing is when the home of a vulnerable person is taken over by criminals who use it as a base for ******** activities, such as drug dealing.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said exploitation like this was “sickening”, adding that legislation would ensure victims were “properly protected and prevent these often hidden crimes from occurring in the first place”.

“It is vital we do everything in our power to eradicate it from our streets,” she said.

Under current CPS guidelines, prosecutors dealing with a suspected case of cuckooing may look to other offences such as assault, harassment and modern day slavery in order to bring charges – but these might not cover all examples.

The previous Conservative government

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, but this legislation made no further progress when Parliament was dissolved for the snap general election.

The child criminal exploitation (CCE) offence in Labour’s bill is designed to target people who groom children into criminal activity, including county lines drug dealing or organised robbery, the Home Office says.

Around 14,500 children were identified as being at risk of CCE in 2023-24, though the government says that is likely to be an underestimated figure.

The cuckooing offence will carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, while the standalone child criminal exploitation offence will carry a maximum sentence of 10 years.

The legislation will also see the introduction of CCE prevention orders, which will mean that courts can put restrictions on people who they believe pose a risk of exploiting a child for criminal purposes.

Breaking these orders will also be a criminal offence, carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Dame Rachel de Souza, the ***’s Children’s Commissioner, has said the measures will provide “clarity that exploited children are victims”.

“Many children targeted by adult criminals themselves face punishment instead of support,” she said.

“Like too many child victims, they are often ignored and overlooked. Their voices and experiences must be listened to, if we are to create a child-centric justice system that puts safeguarding at its heart.”

The bill will also include plans to explicitly outlaw spiking, with a new offence that will carry a prison term of up to 10 years.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Child #exploitation #cuckooing #criminal #offences

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up