IT IS tragic in this day and age that child sexual exploitation (CSE) should still be a major issue. Det Insp Karen Warner tells us she has spent two decades dealing with cases of rape, violence and domestic abuse and she explains how the county’s police help victims and monitors offenders.

Of course the issue is as old as time itself, but Det Insp Warner says, in the wake of recent high-profile convictions for offences against minors over the last couple of years, society has gone from not really knowing much about the problem, to all of a sudden knowing an awful lot about CSE existing.

Worryingly, victims do not always see themselves as such and so often won’t report the problem. This means the dreadful statistics about sexual offences involving young people could be higher still.

There is good news, though. Even if a prosecution can’t be secured, getting more people on the sex offenders’ list shows police are being more successful at putting measures in place that will hopefully keep young people safer.

As Det Insp Warner tells us, seeing offenders charged and imprisoned is important, but protecting victims and future victims is even more so.

Clearly there will always be people who seek out the vulnerable and children are about as easy a prey as it gets. So it is reassuring to know that Det Insp Warner concludes that, although she can’t make the problem go away for good, for victims she can ensure it never happens to them again and that help and support can be put in place.

Perhaps that is as much as we can ever hope for.