11977 Child Sexual Abuse Teams

I write in connection with your request for information dated 30^th May 2020 and received by this office on 1^st June 2020.  Below are the questions raised in your request and our response.

Could you please tell me the following: The names of all task forces or special commissions in the Cleveland Police that are set up to combat child sexual abuse.

1. a) Cleveland Police do not have a Task Force or special commissions to combat child sexual abuse however the below teams do deal with child sexual abuse.

The teams that are set up in Cleveland to combat child sexual abuse are:

Child Abuse Vulnerable Adults (CAVA) which specifically looks at child abuse, including child sexual abuse that are committed by persons who have or have had custody, care or control over the child.

Complex Exploitation Team (CET – previously VEMT) which look at Child Sexual Exploitation and

Abuse with persons not connected to the child, which includes offences like grooming.

Sex offenders Management Unit (SOMU) which look at managing adult sex offenders who may have committed offences against children.

Cleveland Police also take referrals from Operation Hydrant which is a national Independent

Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. These referrals will normally be sent to CAVA to review and disseminate

Please note any statistical data supplied in relation to Freedom of Information requests is a snapshot of data held at the time the request was received by the Freedom of Information office and is subject to constant change/updates.

The Cleveland Police response to your request is unique and it should be noted that Police Forces do not use generic systems or identical procedures to capture and record data therefore responses from Cleveland Police should not be used as a comparison with any other force response you receive.

If you are not satisfied with this response or any actions taken in dealing with your request you have the right to request an independent internal review of your case under our review procedure. The APP College of Policing guidance states that a request for internal review should be made within 20 working days of the date on this response or 40 working days if extenuating circumstances to account for the delay can be evidenced.

We have made every effort to ensure a response was provided within statutory deadlines, however due to current circumstances delays have been unavoidable.  If your response was late we apologise for any inconvenience it may have caused.  If we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact this office.