Police welcome new child sexual exploitation helpline

The National Working Group charity is launching its ‘Say Something’ campaign today and as part of the campaign it has set up a free, 24-hour, anonymous phone and SMS helpline to disclose information and seek support.

Detective Inspector Iain Morgan, who leads the CSE team at Bedfordshire Police, said: “We welcome anything that will help raise awareness of this vitally important issue. Tackling CSE is a high priority for the force and we hope that this new, anonymous, number will help encourage young people in particular to come forward with any information at all that they believe could be useful in the fight against CSE.

“Despite several high profile cases in the media, a lot of people remain unaware of the signs of CSE, so I would urge everyone to learn the signs. If you do see something that you think doesn’t quite seem right, then please do say something.”

The new number, 116 000, will be live from July 1.

If you have any concerns about CSE, you can also contact police on 101, or call Crimestoppers, completely anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

To find out more about CSE, visit www.bedfordshire.police.uk/cse.aspx