Police engagement in multidisciplinary team approaches to commercial sexual exploitation of children

Abstract

Over the past two decades law enforcement has been given new mandates to identify and respond to the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). While CSEC has been identified as an important community safety issue and the negative impacts on young people are well documented, it has proven to be difficult for the police to identify young people who are at risk of victimization and challenging to develop the trust necessary to gather information needed to support investigations, arrest perpetrators, and provide safety to child victims. In response to these challenges, law enforcement is increasingly partnering with child welfare and service provider stakeholders to improve responses to CSEC in local communities. This chapter describes the problem of CSEC and outlines key aspects of a multidisciplinary team approach to the problem. Using qualitative interview data from participants in six multidisciplinary teams in Massachusetts dedicated to responding to CSEC, we discuss key benefits and challenges to a multidisciplinary team approach to CSEC.