Wolerhampton dealing with increase in child exploitation

More children are being identified as being at risk of, or experiencing, exploitation in Wolverhampton.

A report drawn up by the city council also found types of abuse changed over the last five years, with a fall in the number of girls being sexually exploited and a rise in the number of boys being coerced into criminal activity.

Children from ethnic backgrounds were being disproportionately exploited, the report said.

It made a number of recommendations including extra effort to identify and help the children affected and disrupt the criminals responsible.

The council said the increase could partially be explained by improved monitoring and quicker identification of victims.

Its data showed the number of young people supported by its child exploitation team rising from 91 in 2021 to 165 in 2025 – an increase of 81%.

The data also showed the number of children identified as victims of organised sexual grooming (known as Child Sexual Exploitation or CSE) fell by 36% in that same period, from 149 in 2021 to 95 in 2025.

At the same time the number of children coerced into criminal activity (known as Child Criminal Exploitation or CCE) rose by 10% from 178 in 2021 to 195 in 2025.

It said this pattern broadly aligns with national data.