Over 100 Attend Pow-Wow to Tackle Child Exploitation at Westfield
More than 100 people packed into Vue Cinema at Westfield Shopping Centre on Wednesday, 15 March, for a key event hosted by the Specialist Crime Command’s Modern Slavery and Child Exploitation team alongside Stratford’s Safer Neighbourhoods Team and the Safer Business Network.
Operation Makesafe: The Fight Against Child Exploitation
Operation Makesafe is a nationwide campaign aimed at raising awareness of child exploitation. It empowers businesses and organisations with training to spot threats and protect vulnerable youngsters before harm occurs.
Earlier this month, Met Police officers smashed county line gangs in a major week-long crackdown, arresting 200 suspects, safeguarding 177 children, and seizing over £1 million. This shows just how crucial Operation Makesafe is—and why public support is vital.
Businesses Join Forces Against County Lines Gangs
The Met works closely with hotels, pubs, taxis, care homes, shopping centres, transport hubs, Wi-Fi hotspots, and fast food outlets. These frontline businesses are trained to identify signs of child exploitation and alert police before the abuse escalates.
Detective Constable Jules Benrad, Met Modern Slavery and Child Exploitation team, said: “The Met is committed to tackling this issue but we need our local business community to step up and safeguard young people from exploitation. By spotting the warning signs and following referral steps, businesses can play a massive role in making Operation Makesafe a success. We’ll keep working with boroughs, councils, and businesses to protect our children.”
Community Effort to Spot & Stop Exploitation
Since relaunching Operation Makesafe in March 2022, all Met call handlers and frontline officers have been trained. Over 3,000 external businesses and partners have also learned to spot exploitation signs.
Mohammed Qazi from Safer Business Network added: “The event was a big success. Business leaders must proactively safeguard their premises from being exploited. Partnership work is key to tackling child exploitation and modern slavery. By upskilling our community in Stratford and beyond, we can spot warning signs and act before the abuse spirals out of control.”
The Reality Behind County Lines Exploitation
Children are often lured by offenders with booze, cash, gifts, drugs, phones, or false promises of love. Once trapped, victims suffer horrific emotional and physical abuse under modern slavery conditions.
Many victims don’t realise they’re being exploited, so abuse often goes unreported. This makes community vigilance through campaigns like Operation Makesafe all the more vital.
Learn More & Get Involved
For more about Operation Makesafe and the fight against county lines gangs, visit the official Met Police pages:
