Child exploitation and cuckooing to be made criminal offences
As new legislation will be part of next week, criminal exploitation of children and “cuckoo” will become specific criminal offenses.
The Crime and Police Act will also include measures that can see restrictive orders for those who are believed to have used children to criminalize.
Cuckoo is when a vulnerable group’s residence is taken over by criminals, who use it as the basis for illegal activities, such as drug dealing.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said such exploitation was “disgusting”, adding that legislation would ensure victims “have proper protection and prevent these often hidden crimes from happening in the first place.”
“It is crucial that we do everything we can to eliminate it from the streets,” she said.
According to current CPS guidelines, prosecutors dealing with suspicious Cuckoo cases may involve other crimes such as attacks, harassment and modern slavery to file charges – but these may not cover all examples.
Former Conservative Government Announced plans to define cuckoo as cuckoo last yearbut when parliament dissolved for the general election, there was no further progress in this legislation.
The Family Office said the criminal child exploitation (CCE) charges in the Labor Party bill are intended to target people who raise children as criminal activities, including county drug dealing or organized robbery.
About 14,500 children were identified as at risk of CCE in 2023-24, although the government said it is likely to be an underrated number.
The crime of Cuckoo will be sentenced to up to five years in prison, while the crime of criminal exploitation of independent children will be sentenced to 10 years.
The legislation will also see the introduction of the CCE prevention order, which means courts can impose restrictions on those they believe are likely to exploit children for criminal purposes.
Violating these orders would also be a criminal offence, with a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
British Children’s Commissioner Mrs. Rachel de Souza said the measures would provide measures that “the exploited children are victims”.
“Many children targeted by adult offenders face punishment rather than support,” she said.
“Like too many child victims, they are often overlooked and ignored. If we are going to build a child-centered justice system, put it at the heart of protection.”
The bill will also include plans to explicitly cancel competition and adopt new offences that will be held in prison for up to 10 years.
