Exclusive: Taxi drivers could be handed training to spot the signs of child abuseTAXI drivers across Worcestershire could be offered training to help weed out child abuse - amid fears sick sexual predators could be going under the radar.
Calls are being made to train cabbies to spot the signs for child sexual exploitation to become a powerful intelligence-style network to help police and social workers.
It comes as Worcestershire County Council admits it has no idea if the systematic abuse which blighted areas like Rotherham, Oxford and Rochdale is not happening under our noses.
A hard-hitting new action plan has been drawn up involving the county's safeguarding children board which aims to get under the skin of the issue.
The plan says it wants "assurances that large scale and organised child sexual abuse is not present in Worcestershire", devising a strategy to work from including:
- Training for schools so staff know how to spot the signs for child abuse that pupils may be suffering
- A major publicity campaign, in conjunction with West Mercia Police, to raise awareness of the abuse of minors
- A new 'flagging protocol' so the likes of GPs, nurses and sexual health clinics can alert social workers to concerns
- The creation of a checklist for Worcestershire pharmacies to identity people at risk of child abuse
The suggestion to train taxi drivers has come from Councillor Paul Denham, Labour's children and families spokesman, who has taken the idea from Scarborough.
In that seaside town, hundreds of cabbies have to spend two hours getting compulsory training, led by experts, to spot the signs of child abuse in return for a licence.
Councillor Denham says it has made a huge difference, with drivers effectively the eyes and ears for social workers and police.
If they pick up children who appear in distress, for example, or get frequent calls for drop-offs to particular homes or hotels, it means they are better prepared.
Councillor Denham said: "We don't know the full extent of child sexual exploitation in Worcestershire - we hope it's low, but the only way to make sure it is, is to train people to spot the signs of it.
"It has made a massive difference in Scarborough, it's something which has worked really well in that part of the country and we should follow it here."
As well as being a county councillor, he is also vice-chairman of Worcester's licensing committee.
Councillor Fran Oborski said: "It's all right to say 'there's no gang grooming in Worcestershire' - we're not Rotherham, but we cannot say 'it's not happening because we have no evidence'."
The suggestion is set to be taken forward under the strategy, which is still in draft form and will be finalised later this month.
Diana Fulbrook, the chair of Worcestershire's safeguarding children board, said: "We are targeting taxi drivers, as part of the action plan in the strategy there's a commitment to taking 'best practise' (from other parts of the country)."
Gail Quinton, the director of children's services at the county council, said: "It's around raising awareness and understanding so more people know what it looks like and who may be vulnerable."
Private hire cabbie Arnold Lawrence, 51, of Worcester, said: "It's a great idea, I'm all for it."
source:
http://www.tewkesburyadmag.co.uk/news/13370243._/
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