NORTH Yorkshire Police has admitted it could do more to protect children from sexual exploitation.

In a report to Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan, the force said it must work more closely better to national guidelines while still delivering at a local level, and that more can be done to increase the awareness of the risks of child sexual exploitation (CSE) amongst young people.

The report – presented to North Yorkshire Police’s performance and scrutiny group yesterday – also said there were difficulties in “keeping abreast of technology and social media channels used by young people”, and that the force would look for more ways for young people and their families to report concerns.

Chief Constable Dave Jones said the report justified recent investment in the force’s units to protect vulnerable people Units, a sexual assault referral centre and specialist officers.

He said the introduction of a new cyber crime unit “will further enhance our capacity to target people who use the internet to prey on children”.

Mrs Mulligan said: “The report has reassured me that officers in North Yorkshire are acting appropriately, and that good working practices are in place with our partners which have been there for a number of years. There are always ways to improve, and this report has highlighted a number of areas.

“In particular, I feel more needs to be done to prevent CSE and highlight the risks to parents, children, schools and school governors. In addition, the complexities of knowing which children are at risk and ensuring they are proactively identified is challenging and needs further consideration and coordination.”