Haringey Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee has been presented with data indicating no identified organised group-based child sexual exploitation in the borough, though a report stressed that this does not equate to an absence of risk.
The committee received a report from the Haringey Safeguarding Children Partnership (HSCP) on Monday 26 October 2026, which detailed police findings that no organised grooming gangs or offender networks are currently operating within Haringey. However, the report acknowledged that national inquiries have repeatedly shown that group-based exploitation can be difficult to identify when individual incidents are not connected.
Metropolitan Police data presented to the committee showed that between 2024 and August 2026, between 4% and 6% of recorded child sexual abuse offences involved more than one suspect. New police recording arrangements introduced in September 2025 categorise offences into Level 1 (individual), Level 2 (group-based), and Level 3 (organised).
These categorisations are based on specific criteria: Level 1 applies when the suspect is acting alone, or if there is more than one suspect, they are unknown to each other. Level 2 is for offences involving two or more individuals (identified or not) who are known to or associated with each other and are involved in or facilitate the offending. Level 3 is defined as offences where individuals, normally working together with the intent and capability to commit serious crime on a continuing basis, which includes elements of planning, control, coordination, structure, and group decision-making.
For Level 2 tags, a Detective Sergeant is expected to review the case within 48 hours, and for Level 3 tags, a Detective Inspector will review the case within 24 hours. In Haringey for 2026, 91.8% of tagged offences were Level 1, 8.2% were Level 2, and no Level 3 offences were recorded. This contrasts with wider Metropolitan Police Service figures for September 2026, where 94.1% were Level 1, 5.7% Level 2, and 0.16% Level 3.
The HSCP outlined its ongoing work to strengthen safeguarding arrangements, including multi-agency child exploitation (MACE) arrangements and a Child Sexual Abuse Task and Finish Group. The partnership acknowledged the importance of considering information across agencies to identify patterns and connections, and highlighted the ongoing Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, which is examining London as one of its investigation areas. The inquiry is well underway, with London being one of the first areas examined. While a specific timeline for findings is not yet available, the inquiry is ongoing and findings will be published when ready.
Councillors raised concerns about the reliability of historical data, potential under-reporting, and the challenges of identifying exploitation, particularly online. The committee discussed concerns about online harms, noting, we don't know the full impact of online harms on our children
. It was also highlighted that children are seeing pornography at a very young age, prompting questions about why this cannot be more effectively prevented to protect children's self-esteem and prevent coercion. The difficulty in keeping pace with technological advancements and the increased connectivity between children and perpetrators online was also emphasised.
Concrete steps are being taken to improve data analysis and perpetrator identification. These include strengthening data and intelligence through improved reporting and multi-agency analysis, and enhancing MACE arrangements with operational and strategic forums for oversight. The VOLT model (Victim, Offender, Location and Theme) is being used to identify connections across individual cases. Consideration is also being given to establishing a Multi-Agency Repeat Missing Children Problem-Solving Panel for complex cases with exploitation concerns. The Child Sexual Abuse Task and Finish Group is working to improve data and performance information. Furthermore, work is underway to develop a shared partnership dataset and platform for intelligence sharing, and an analyst is being brought into the local authority to aid data analysis. There is a stated need to focus more on identifying perpetrators, as exploitation is caused by them, and to ensure structures are in place to identify and escalate exploitation effectively.
The committee was assured that systems are in place to review and tag offences, and that operations like Operation Beacon Port are reviewing historical cases to identify missed opportunities. This operation is examining crimes over the past 15 years where no further action was taken by the police or CPS, to ascertain if the correct decisions were made and if crimes need to be reviewed. Operation Beacon Port is a significant part of the continuing improvement process, identifying areas where past actions could have been better. However, the full scope and findings of this operation are still emerging.
The committee also heard about the importance of a partnership approach, involving not just policing but also children's social care, health, and other agencies. The Metropolitan Police are delivering training on adultification and victim-blaming language, with officers being suitably skilled up in this, in this area.
Identified instances of adultification or victim-blaming language are escalated for recovery work with the child, learning for officers, and potential disciplinary action, with wider learning considered for the borough and BCU. This training is described as a progressive move towards a space where everyone's making better decisions, and people's biases aren't influencing their decision-making.
Public reports pack 26th-Oct-2026 19.00 Overview and Scrutiny Committee.pdf