New campaign encourages public to 'Be Curious'

News Desk
Authored by News Desk
Posted Saturday, February 18, 2017 - 9:59pm

A new campaign has been launched to help raise awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE), modern slavery and violent extremism in Devon.

The Be Curious campaign, developed by the Safer Devon Partnership aims to raise awareness of the issues and uses short animations to highlight potential signs of modern slavery, CSE and violent extremism.

The Safer Devon Partnership is a county-wide strategic partnership which brings together a range of stakeholders who all play a key role in enabling the people of Devon to feel and be safe in their homes and communities.

Councillor Roger Croad, who Chairs the Safer Devon Partnership explained: “So often, people think that issues such as child sexual exploitation, violent extremism and modern slavery don’t affect people living in Devon. The general consensus is that these things only happen in big cities.

“This isn’t the case, in the past year alone we have seen a number of these cases across Devon and are hoping this campaign will raise awareness about the signs to look out for so that we can work together to help prevent further cases in the future. We want to encourage people to come forward or speak to someone they trust if they suspect something.”

In 2016 alone, there have been several suspected cases of modern slavery, including a Torquay nail bar being shut down as part of an anti-modern slavery operation involving five South West police forces, led by the National Crime Agency. This case discovered three potential victims of modern slavery from Vietnam. A few months earlier, two Exeter car washes were raided by Devon and Cornwall Police as part of enquiries into allegations of modern slavery.

The campaign is also raising awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE), an issue which had 56 reported cases in the months between January 2014 and October 2014 in Devon alone. In the same year, Devon & Cornwall police identified 76 crimes relating to CSE, with an online element.

Julian Pezzani, Devon Partnership Inspector for Devon and Cornwall Police said: “These are three very separate, but important issues that all involve the exploitation of vulnerable people within our communities.

“Keeping everyone safe in the community is everyone’s responsibility.  We would encourage the public to be aware of the signs to look out for and to report any unusual or suspicious behaviour in the knowledge that their concerns will be taken seriously.”

Be Curious is also aiming to raise awareness of violent extremism, an issue which has recently made numerous national headlines with a rise in the number of cases involving extremism and radicalisation.

Councillor Roger Croad continued: “Radicalisation and violent extremism can and does happen anywhere and the rise of online communication means that people are better connected than ever before. A person sitting alone in their bedroom can instantly become subject to radicalisation. We are hoping that the Be Curious campaign will help members of the public to start to recognise the potential signs of radicalisation, modern slavery and child sexual exploitation and feel confident that if they think something is wrong, it’s okay to seek advice.”

The Safer Devon Partnership is urging people to become aware of the possible signs of these issues and if they feel something isn’t right in their community, to speak to someone they trust.

image010.jpgThe campaign highlights the following as possible indicators of these issues:

Modern slavery:

  • people who appear to be being forced to work against their will
  • people who are unhappy or unresponsive in the work place
  • people who rarely interact with others or appear unfamiliar within their neighbourhood or where they work
  • people travelling at unusual times to and from work.

Child sexual exploitation:

  • children going missing for long periods of time or regularly returning home late
  • skipping school or being disruptive in class
  • appearing with unexplained gifts or possessions that can’t be accounted for
  • displaying inappropriate sexualised behaviour

Violent extremism: (often typical in younger people but not exclusive to)

  • feeling disconnected from their cultural or religious heritage
  • feeling isolated
  • disassociating from a group of friends and becoming part of a completely new group
  • articulating support for violent extremist causes or leaders
  • accessing websites containing violent or extreme sentiment

As well as encouraging people to talk to someone they trust, the campaign also offers the appropriate helplines for each of the three issues for people who would like to get more specific advice or information.

To find out more about Be Curious and watch the animations follow @SaferDevon on Twitter or like SaferDevon on Facebook.

Animations:

Modern Slavery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzP39erLtxY

Violent Extremism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8pYML9GMhg

Child Sexual Exploitation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oocc6KXrg_Q

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