Mayor Supports West Yorkshire Safeguarding Week

18th June 2021

The Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin is lending her support to West Yorkshire Safeguarding Week, which begins on Monday 21st June 2021.

It sees partners across the county come together to highlight issues affecting both adults and children.

West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin said it is a theme which she is personally committed to:

“One of my key manifesto pledges is to put the safety of women and girls at the heart of my policing plan.

“Recognising that the vast majority of violent offences against both men and women are committed by men, I will be exploring new ways of addressing this in the weeks and months ahead.

“This could, for instance, be through education, support, preventative measures and perpetrator schemes, helping change behaviours and the likelihood of re-offending.

“Similarly, I will be working alongside partners organisations to support the resourcing of refuges, rape crises services and those offering assistance to victims and survivors.

“Safeguarding Week is fantastic platform to bring attention to all these important issues and the tremendous amount of work, which is already taking place.

“I will be doing everything I can to raise awareness and share details of the support available but we all play a part in making our communities safe and I’d encourage everyone to watch this excellent video about what we as individuals can do.”

To correspond with Safeguarding Week, the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) has also funded an ITV advert, helping communities to recognise the signs of child criminal exploitation and encourage the reporting of it.

Director of the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) Chief Superintendent Jackie Marsh said:

“The advert, which is running for a month, plays a crucial role in raising awareness of the subtle indicators of this horrendous crime and poses the question “Are You Listening?”.

“It really demonstrates the many scenarios in which child criminal exploitation can manifest itself and how changes in behaviour can potentially help us to identify its presence.

“I would encourage everyone to absorb the powerful message it delivers and to share that knowledge with others.

“By confronting the issues in this way, we can all collectively work to protect those who are vulnerable within our communities and change their futures.”

You can find out more information on tackling child criminal exploitation, the signs and the support available here https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/CCE.