On Friday 23rd November the Speaker was Vicki Ridgewell, a recently retired police officer employed as a member of police staff by West Mercia Police at Telford’s Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) team. Vicki gave a hard hitting, but informative and enlightening talk on CSE in all it’s forms including grooming, forced criminality, human trafficking and domestic servitude which is happening in Telford and other towns nationwide.
Her role sits alongside an enforcement team of police officers working with social workers in a joint effort to tackle this abuse. The training package is being delivered to staff at as many public facing organisations as possible such as hotels workers, pharmacists, schools, colleges and sports clubs.
Raising awareness will empower and encourage people to spot the signs of exploitation and give them the confidence to report their concerns. An impactful talk delivered in a professional manner which well received by members.