The victim has been commended for his bravery in coming forward

Abuser guilty of paying boy, 12, with crisps and sweets for sexual favours

A former senior police officer was appointed in May 2019 to head up a specialist local charity dedicated to transforming the lives of children and young people who are victims or at risk of child sexual exploitation (CSE).
Tracy Harrison is the new Chief Executive of Safe and Sound which is based in Derby and works with children and young people aged up to 18 across the city and county.  
The well-respected charity also raises awareness in local communities about the dangers and signs of grooming and exploitation of young people.
Mrs Harrison’s remit is to expand and develop the scope of the charity’s work to support more young people, their families and local communities across the county and region.
Mrs Harrison recently retired from Derbyshire Constabulary after a 32-year career with the Force.  
During that time she progressed from Constable to the rank of Superintendent - leading a number of high profile investigations and receiving several awards including four Chief Constable’s commendations for bravery, outstanding charitable work as well as leading and coaching people.
Her final role before retiring was as Superintendent in charge of operational policing in the south of the county. 
She was also the Force’s lead on children and young people working in partnership across the county to improve the lives of children and young people, particularly those most vulnerable in local communities.
Mrs Harrison said: “I have been involved with Safe and Sound since it was founded in 2002 and would like to take the opportunity to thank those involved with the charity thus far. There have been some incredible achievements that I would like to build on.
“I have worked voluntarily for a wide range of local charities that are focused on supporting vulnerable young people and their families alongside my career with Derbyshire Police.
“Children are my life – particularly through my charitable work and within my own large and extended family. I am passionate that we need to do all we can to nurture them into adulthood.
“I am therefore delighted and honoured that the next chapter in my working life will be to further develop the vital work that Safe and Sound do to support and protect children and young people from the devastating and manipulative damage that sexual exploitation has on their lives.”


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Derbyshire’s specialist child exploitation charity, Safe and Sound, has launched a new far-reaching programme in response to the increased vulnerabilities amongst children and young people to wider exploitation. The charity says that increased isolation, online grooming and pressure on family finances during the pandemic has led to a rise in the number of children and young people becoming vulnerable to exploitation.&nbsp; Safe and Sound’s own workload has increased 50% in the past year and this, it fears, is only the tip of the iceberg. Safe and Sound has nearly 20 years’ expertise in working with children and young people across Derbyshire who are victims of or at risk of sexual exploitation. Safe and Sound expanded its remit in 2019 to include wider exploitation including drugs lines, trafficking, modern slavery and radicalisation and, in 2020 17% of children referred to Safe and Sound were at risk of criminal exploitation.&nbsp; Furthermore, the charity has seen an increase in the number of boys and young men needing support and a large proportion of those at risk of criminal exploitation have special educational needs. Safe and Sound has now secured a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund to launch the ‘Transforming Young Lives’ programme with additional specialist staff and activities over the next three years.&nbsp; The focus will be on wider child exploitation; additional support for children, young people and their families raising greater awareness amongst local communities and building the charity’s volunteer base. National research reveals an alarming increased in children and young people being groomed by criminal gangs and individuals both online and face to face. The National Crime Agency has reported that that the number of “deal lines” used by city gangs to sell drugs around the UK has nearly tripled from 720 to approximately 2,000 over the past year alone and that at least 300,000 people in the UK posed a sexual threat to children, either through physical contact abuse or online.&nbsp; The NSPCC’s recent review of the impact of Covid-19 on child abuse concluded: “The combined impact of increased stressors on caregivers, increased child vulnerability, and reduced safeguards increases the potential for new and recurring cases of abuse in all its forms.” &nbsp; &nbsp;<blockquote>Safe and Sound CEO Tracy Harrison explained: “There is widespread recognition that child sexual exploitation is interlinked with other forms of exploitation such as county lines, trafficking and radicalisation. “For example, children who are sexually exploited are trafficked across different geographical areas and girls who are radicalised are often sexually exploited or subject of an arranged or illegal marriage.” Mrs Harrison continued: “A particular focus for this work, as well as supporting the individual young person and their family, will be to break down the barriers and misconceptions around wider exploitation which can prevent children receiving support as victims. “For example, young people who are victims of exploitation, such as County Lines, are regarded as and therefore treated as offenders. “This is similar to the historic approach to child sexual exploitation victims who were seen as and labelled “child prostitutes” rather than victims. This led to children not being taken seriously, not being protected and abuse continuing when it could have been stopped. We can only change this culture collectively.”</blockquote>

Safe and Sound Launches Wider Exploitation Programme

A former senior police officer was appointed in May 2019 to head up a specialist local charity dedicated to transforming the lives of children and young people who are victims or at risk of child sexual exploitation (CSE). Tracy Harrison is the new Chief Executive of Safe and Sound which is based in Derby and works with children and young people aged up to 18 across the city and county. The well-respected charity also raises awareness in local communities about the dangers and signs of grooming…

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