BBC News reports Police received hundreds of reports of child abuse in hotel chains
In 2023, figures provided by the National Police Chief's Council (NPCC) revealed that 504 offences were recorded as having taken place in hotels of which 92% (464) involved physical contact with a child, whilst 40% (203) were recorded as rape.
Although offences in hotels made up less than 1% of the total number of recorded sexual crimes against children in England and Wales for the year, police say the crime is under reported and the real figures are likely to be higher. The NPCC says police forces are "working with hotels to try and raise awareness of child sexual exploitation". Trade body UK Hospitality, which represents more than 130,000 venues, says it is "doubling down to tackle this abhorrent crime".
The NPCC says most of these incidents took place in budget chain hotels in larger town and cities with good transport links to make it easier for the abuser to facilitate meetings. "Once you're behind that hotel bedroom door, there's a degree of privacy that perpetrators often don't find elsewhere when they commit abuse," says Phil Ashford, from the NPCC child sexual exploitation taskforce. "We're talking about some of the most serious contact offending imaginable - the rape and serious sexual abuse of children."
Assistant Chief Constable Becky Riggs from the NPCC says ‘Operation Makesafe’ also aims to highlight the positive work being done by hotels. She said the impact of the partnership "cannot be overestimated".
Evidence obtained by the police suggests that a perpetrator will usually be reluctant to provide ID and insist on paying cash whilst the child might appear nervous and unhappy.
Sergeant Ian Haselden from Greater Manchester Police conducts operations during which officers pretend to be an abuser and travel to a hotel with a child acting as a victim. They then attempt to book a room while displaying signs of suspicious behaviour. "We'd rather they be safe than sorry, because this is an extremely serious crime and we don't want them to worry about making the wrong call," he says. "If hotels are suspicious the gold standard response is to call the police," he adds.
Figures reveal;
- 26% of victims in the 504 reported offences were aged 15
- 18% were aged 16
- 17% were aged 17.
Almost all suspects (92%) were men, and the average age of suspects was 28. The victims were predominantly female (84%).
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, told the BBC: "We are working closely with the Home Office and police to support Operation Makesafe. We provide hospitality businesses with police guidance on what the signs of child sexual exploitation are, how to spot them, what to do if you think an incident is taking place and measures hotels can implement to deter incidents."
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