“'Yes, but there are other children who are actually being abused”: Using simulation to examine how professionals identify and respond to child criminal exploitation.

Child criminal exploitation challenges traditional notions of victimhood. This is compounded by the ‘expansive continuum’ (Marshall, 2023:1165) of exploited children’s experiences and where children emerge as both victims and offenders. Consequently, professionals have focused on narrow definitions of victimhood and the binary distinction between victim and perpetrator (Cullen et al, 2020). Children at the lower end of the continuum or those who do not display vulnerability are often deemed culpable for their actions. This includes children who present as streetwise, demonstrate bravado and those who are unwilling to engage with professionals (Blakeburn and Smith, 2020). Under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, local authorities are the primary provider of support for criminally exploited children. Yet, the Jay Review of Criminally Exploited Children (2024) found that local authorities often defer to the police. This has resulted in a criminal justice rather than a safeguarding approach. Using simulation and think aloud techniques to explore professional decision making, this paper presents findings from a larger study of the service pathways for criminally exploited children in Wales. It argues that professional decision making is bounded by the lack of a legal definition and statutory framework for criminal exploitation. Professionals drew upon their knowledge and understanding of criminal exploitation and practice guidance about service remit and thresholds. This resulted in inconsistencies within and between professionals from different sectors. This paper considers findings from multi-agency professionals who used think aloud techniques when reviewing a simulated case file of a criminally exploited child. The case file was a composite of key findings from case file analysis of fifteen children who had been referred to a multi-agency exploitation panel. The paper argues that identifying and safeguarding criminally exploited children is dependent upon a complex interplay between professional knowledge, service remits and beliefs about the deserving victim.