3. Problem profiling involves the drawing together of information about child sexual exploitation from different agencies into one place. The purpose of a problem profile should be to enable agencies to fully understand the nature and extent of the problem of sexual exploitation and to commission services, train staff and prioritise action based on an accurate picture.
Warwickshire Police child exploitation problem profile
4. The Children’s Commissioner’s 2013 report made clear that a problem profile should include:
5. A meaningful child sexual exploitation profile requires accurate data and intelligence. Ms Katherine Riley, Portfolio Director for the Joint Criminal Justice Inspections and Protecting Vulnerable People Portfolio within Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), stated that:
“a proper problem profile … needs to be symbiotic, drawing information in from the partnership information held about a child or, indeed, an offender, and it also needs to be feeding information consistently into that partnership”.[2]
6. The evidence considered in this investigation made clear that the child sexual exploitation profiles in the case study areas were inaccurate in a number of ways.