A specialist team is being developed in a ground-breaking move to tackle the growing menace of child sexual exploitation in the Bradford district.

Experts in the police, social services, Barnardo’s Turn Around Project and The Children's Society Hand In Hand scheme will work from a new base at Javelin House police station in Eccleshill, Bradford, from the end of this month.

Over the past 14 months, agencies involved in dealing with child exploitation in Bradford have seen 100 young people ranging in ages from 12 to 19, some of whom were boys, according to analysis by Bradford Safeguarding Children Board.

Not all the children and young people had been sexually abused but were identified as being at risk and needing services to reduce the risk of harm. A smaller number who had been victims of abuse were receiving help to become safe and get the health and education services they required.

Nick Frost, independent chairman of the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board, said: “One of the most important things in dealing with child sexual exploitation is all the agencies sharing information because the police know things from the streets, social workers may be involved with the young people and they all need to co-ordinate and link together.”

Paul Hill, manager of the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board, said while the agencies had always worked together, being in the same office should quicken the process.

“Agencies will only get better at helping with the more experience they have of dealing with the different situations and working with different families,” he said.

“It has always been a priority for us but we are stepping it up and putting more resources in. We set it up because there is a continuing concern, but also as we have more experience of dealing with it, we learn more about what works.”

Preventative work in the community and schools was being used to try to tackle the problem.

Mr Hill said: “We are aware and we are concerned about young people and we want to get it right for them and their families.

“We also think we would rather that Bradford was known for doing something positive about this rather than this is a place with this problem and nothing is happening to improve it.”

Janice Hawkes, assistant director of children’s services for Barnardo’s Yorkshire, warned that child sexual exploitation was “highly complex” and “ever-changing”.

“So we do have to be ahead of the game,” she said.

They had looked at good practice examples around the country and the key thing was to share practices and ideas.

“This issue is found in every town and city across the UK,” said Mrs Hawkes.

“It is not just focused on places like Bradford.” She said more referrals around child sexual exploitation were being made.

“Some of the agencies are recognising it quicker – it is always very difficult to say whether this is an increasing problem or whether we are becoming more sophisticated at being able to identify it at an early stage.”

Early identification enabled agencies to support families and help them recognise the situation because often the young person did not realise they were being abused until it was too late, said Mrs Hawkes.

“We know there are other parts of the country where similar teams have been put together, but this is the way forward and we do feel it is groundbreaking, certainly within Yorkshire,” said Mrs Hawkes.

e-mail: sally.clifford@telegraphandargus.co.uk