The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has formally welcomed the findings of the latest follow-up review into Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), conducted by the Criminal Justice Inspection in Northern Ireland (CJINI).

The service has reinforced its commitment to significantly enhancing how it identifies, safeguards, and protects vulnerable young people, particularly those who are reported missing and are at risk of exploitation.

Detective Chief Superintendent Zoe McKee, Head of the Public Protection Branch, acknowledged the positive feedback received while simultaneously addressing areas flagged for improvement.

She stated: "CJINI has acknowledged the significant progress made by the PSNI in strengthening our response to child sexual exploitation, including better strategic coordination, improved risk-flagging processes and the professionalism of our officers and staff. We welcome this recognition and are determined to build on it."

DCS McKee stressed that while progress is being made, the inspection identified instances where the police response lacked sufficient consistency or was not adequately child-centred. The PSNI is treating these concerns with utmost seriousness.

"The review also highlights important areas where our response has not always been sufficiently consistent or child-centred. We take these concerns extremely seriously. Any instance where a child does not receive the service they deserve is unacceptable and we are accelerating work to deliver a more trauma-informed and risk-led approach."

Key Improvement Actions The PSNI is actively working with the Department of Justice, the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland (SBNI), and other statutory partners to bolster the entire system response. Immediate actions and ongoing developments include:

• Identification and Safeguarding: New CSE flagging processes are now actively enhancing identification and safeguarding efforts, with further refinements planned.

• Frontline Practice: Alerts for children listed on the Child Protection Register are now fully embedded in operations. Frontline training has been expanded, and updated referral pathways, toolkits, and quality-assurance measures are strengthening investigative work.

• Multi-Agency Governance: The PSNI is fully engaged as a key partner in the SBNI Child Exploitation Committee, focusing intensely on improving data-sharing, partnership planning, and multi-agency governance. Exploitation-related training has been significantly expanded to include mandatory e-learning and multi-agency exercises.

• Judicial Outcomes: The Service is working directly with the Public Prosecution Service to improve decision-making, ensure greater recognition of grooming and exploitation as criminal offences, and support more consistent outcomes for children.

Focus on Missing Children

The handling of missing children cases remains a priority. The PSNI has undertaken comprehensive internal measures, including extensive dip-sampling, an NPCC peer review, and a detailed analysis of missing-from-care incidents. Work is continuing to reduce administrative delays linked to the Philomena Protocol and to guarantee that high-quality risk information is captured at the first point of contact.

DCS McKee concluded by affirming the Service's commitment: "Our absolute priority is the safety and wellbeing of children across Northern Ireland and we are fully committed to delivering a more consistent, child-centred and partnership-driven response to CSE, criminal exploitation and missing children."