Officers in Shrewsbury carried out covert ‘mystery shopper’ style visits to four large chain hotels on Tuesday evening, 9 December, as part of a national initiative to prevent child sexual exploitation.

Operation Makesafe is a national programme which aims to help prevent child sexual exploitation through engaging with and educating businesses such as hotels, pubs and taxi companies on the warning signs they can look out for.

The multi-agency operation was carried out by West Mercia Police’s Child Exploitation Team and Shropshire Local Authority TREES Team (Together Reducing and Ending Exploitation in Shropshire).

Child volunteers, playing the role of exploited children and plain clothed police officers, acting as perpetrators of child sexual exploitation, conducted ‘test purchases’ of hotel rooms, in order to see if staff could identify any child exploitation concerns.

The results of the operation will be shared with the National Child Sexual Exploitation Task Force. West Mercia Police will contact the hotels and offer additional training where gaps were identified.

Detective Sergeant Jon Statham said: “We know that offenders use hotels to commit child sexual exploitation due to the privacy and anonymity hotels can provide.

“In 2023 over 500 child sexual abuse offences took place in hotels. Operation Makesafe helps forces to empower businesses and their staff to identify potential victims and report their concerns to the police. By encouraging hotel staff to be our eyes and ears we can prevent children becoming victims of child sexual exploitation and seek to prosecute those responsible.

“This is invaluable in protecting young people and it’s vital those who are in a prime position to spot the signs, know what they are looking out for and how to flag them to us. We will continue to work with hotels and other businesses to ensure they have the necessary training to help keep young people safe.”

Exploitation and vulnerability training workshops are available to anyone living or working within the West Mercia Police force area, and cover various aspects of vulnerability and how to spot the signs and symptoms of exploitation. Further information on dates and how to book is available online.

Anyone who is worried that a child may be involved in child exploitation should report their concerns to police.

Alternatively, if you have information but don’t feel comfortable speaking to police, you can speak to the independent charity Crimestoppers. It is 100% anonymous, they never ask your name, and they cannot trace your call or IP address. You can contact them online or by calling 0800 555 111.