Last week, police and partners from Rochdale Borough Council launched two days of action in a bid to hold local businesses to account and clamp down on premises suspected to be selling illegal commodities to underage children.
These days were organised by the multi-agency Sunrise Complex Safeguarding Team based at Rochdale police station, made up of GMP officers, children’s services, youth workers, social workers, health professionals, housing officers, Trading Standards, and those working in public protection services.
On Wednesday (13 December 2023), police and partners from Rochdale Trading Standards took to the streets to visit premises across Rochdale, suspected to be selling vapes to underage children. In total, almost 2,000 illegal vapes being seized by Trading Standards.
A number of test purchases were carried out by an underage volunteer, who was able to buy two vapes, illegally. The purpose of these visits is to make sure local shops are not selling vapes to underage children, and any that were identified for doing so will face further investigation and enforcement action.
Later in the evening, police visited a number of areas where young people are known to congregate and receive free food, alcohol, vapes and drugs. We are regularly engaging with them and letting them know how the Sunrise team are able to support them. This was a great chance to build on intelligence and offer young people the opportunity to speak to police and social workers in an informal setting.
Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Round from GMP Sunrise Team said: “The illegal supply of vapes continues to be a priority for the borough as they are often a gateway to child exploitation. Not only do they pose serious health risks but vapes are often used to groom young people. They will be used to form relationships, or young people will be asked to sell vapes, which can then lead to them being coerced into selling drugs or performing sexual favours. The lifestyle, or the prospect of earning money can often be very appealing to young people, but once they are in, they find it difficult to get out.”
Councillor Neil Emmott, leader of Rochdale Borough Council, said: “Our trading standards team, with partners continue to work around the clock to keep our residents safe in the borough of Rochdale. Test purchases, visits and seizures are a regular part of the trading standards teams’ disruption activities. Illegal vapes contain far more nicotine than permitted. As with any highly addictive substance, there is a danger that children can be exploited by their addiction. The team continues to share intelligence with partners to disrupt the sales and supply of illegal vapes.”
On Thursday (14 December 2023), police attended businesses across Rochdale, including hotels and taxi ranks, to speak to staff and empower them to tackle sexual exploitation through increased awareness and training. In the new year, police will be working with partners to develop training sessions which aim to improve their knowledge and confidence in spotting the signs of exploitation. Often, employees in these businesses could be the difference for a victim.
Thankfully, as a result of visits throughout the year, many hotel staff felt that they were able to recognise the signs of sexual exploitation. However, some said that they did not have the confidence to speak out if they had concerns about a situation; with this in mind, police will be working closely with businesses, building on these relationships, so that staff can confidently report any concerns to the police.
DCI Stuart Round said: “These visits were really positive, and it was encouraging to see how many employees were aware of the signs of exploitation and knew the avenues to report these issues to the police. In the New Year, we will continue to build on this education and equip businesses with the materials and training they need to help them identify suspicious behaviour or activity on their premises.
“There is regular proactive work ongoing across the borough as we continue to pursue offenders and bring them to justice. These operations run every month and see high visibility patrols on our streets, increased visits to premises and areas of concern to disrupt illegal activities whilst also engaging with young people regarding exploitation. We want to build relationships and ensure they know where they can access support.
“At the heart of all of this, is our ongoing work with partners to ensure that we share all intelligence and our collective powers to protect our children and disrupt any criminal activity.
“If anyone has any information regarding something that may be going on in the community or if they believe a child is being criminally or sexually exploited, then we urge them to contact us via 101 or through the Live Chat function on the website www.gmp.police.uk.”
