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Officers in Shropshire carried out covert ‘mystery shopper’ visits to several Shropshire hotels over the weekend as part of a national initiative to prevent child sexual exploitation. 

Operation Makesafe is a national programme which aims to help prevent child sexual exploitation through educating businesses such as hotels, pubs and taxi companies on the warning signs they can look out for.

Officers in Shropshire will be engaged with hotels as part of this operation, providing training to hotel employees to raise their awareness of child sexual exploitation. We will also soon be providing hotels and business with posters and other materials to promote Operation Makesafe to staff and guests.

Detective Inspector Matt Keeble, who leads the vulnerability team in Shropshire, said: “We know that child exploitation, in particular sexual exploitation, can take place in hotels. Operation Makesafe is a really important part of our prevention strategy as we know that those working on the frontline in hotels are in a prime position to spot the early signs of exploitation and flag them to us.

“The training our local officers, and those from our specialised child exploitation team, can provide to hotel staff is invaluable in protecting young people. Staff will be trained to spot the signs that a young person might be being exploited, and given guidance on the sort of questions to ask to safely and discreetly gain further information.

“As part of Operation Makesafe, officers carried out covert ‘mystery shopper’ visits to several local hotels over the weekend to see how they responded to scenarios involving young people who were potentially at risk of exploitation.

“These visits are just one part of Operation Makesafe, but they’re really important as they help us to understand where there are gaps in the knowledge and training of hotel staff so that we can address these to ensure young people are kept as safe as possible.”

Exploitation and vulnerability training workshops are available to anyone living or working within the West Mercia Police force area, and cover various aspects of vulnerability and how to spot the signs and symptoms of exploitation. Further information on dates and how to book is available on our website- Exploitation and vulnerability training | West Mercia Police.

Anyone who is worried that a child may be involved in child exploitation should report their concerns to police.

Alternatively, if you have information but don’t feel comfortable speaking to police, you can speak to the independent charity Crimestoppers. It is 100% anonymous, they never ask your name, and they cannot trace your call or IP address. You can contact them online or by calling 0800 555 111.