All Bournemouth's taxi drivers are being trained to spot child sexual exploitationBournemouth council is giving all its taxi and private hire drivers mandatory training in a bid to help protect children from child sexual exploitation (CSE) and human trafficking.
The council says the awareness training for taxi drivers is just one of the ways Bournemouth Council is aiming to raise the profile of CSE.
Councillor Nicola Greene, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services, said: “We have identified that our taxi and private hire drivers play a really important role in helping to safeguard the young and vulnerable of whom they may be in contact with through their job.
"Local drivers are often the eyes and ears within the community and their knowledge and information can play a crucial part in protecting young people from being victims of Child Sexual Exploitation.”
Bournemouth Council’s Licensing Board agreed that all licensed drivers would benefit from specific training on how to spot CSE concerns and the importance of reporting them to the appropriate agencies.
Free mandatory training is being provided to all 950 taxi and private hire drivers in Bournemouth.
Kevin Holmes, Chairman of Bournemouth Joint Taxi Trades Association, said: “We are fully supportive of any measure that help to safeguard young or vulnerable people in our society. We are more than happy to work with the police and the local authority to help stamp out these despicable practices.”
The council is also working closely Bournemouth Tourism Board, local schools and doctors to raise awareness of CSE and the signs to look out for.
There is a new parenting programme to provide support to parents and a leaflet for parents and carers is being made available in libraries and through schools.
For more information about CSE visit:
www.bournemouth.gov.uk/cse source:
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/14342511.display/
Login
Register
FAQ
