Continuing to invest in tackling child abuse

Essex Police is committed to tackling abuse in all its forms, to bring justice and to help keep the public safe.

Detective Superintendent Neil Pudney KPM is Head of Investigations for Essex Police’s Crime and Public Protection command; whose job it is to protect the most vulnerable in our communities, including children.

The force is continually investing in its work to stamp out child abuse, keeping victims at the heart of all we do. Det Supt Pudney said:

“Within the Child Abuse Investigation strand of our command, our award-winning Child Sexual Exploitation Proactive Investigation Team deal with complex and organised child sexual abuse. They are a unit of detectives and police support staff with specialist training to enable them to deal with the complexities of these investigations.
"Furthermore, our Quest Team deal with non-recent cases of child abuse and sexual exploitation.
“We also work closely with partner agencies to ensure a co-ordinated response to preventing, responding or investigating child sexual abuse. We have delivered joint training with Local Authority education leads and specialist victim support services to raise awareness in schools and colleges about harmful sexual behaviours, online safety, and to highlight the support available when reporting such offences.”

An Essex Police investigation into child abuse featured in an ITV1 documentary this week. Gymnastics: A Culture of Abuse? was broadcast at 9pm on Thursday 22 February and examined the issue of physical, emotional and sexual abuse within the sport of gymnastics.

Colchester gymnastics coach David Schadek was convicted of a series of child sex offences and was jailed for four-and-a-half years in February 2022.

Detective Chief Inspector Emma Barker, previously of Essex Police’s Crime and Public Protection command, was interviewed about the case for the programme.

Reducing violence against women and girls remains a top priority for Essex Police. Reports of domestic and sexual offences fell in our county last year and we have the best rate in the country for securing convictions for sexual offences for cases that go to trial. With the national average at 84.5%, we get convictions in 91.3% of cases.

We launched our #Reflect campaign in 2022 in partnership with the Southend, Essex and Thurrock Domestic Abuse Partnership (SETDAB). It led to more than 500 people contacting our partner charity, The Change Project, which offers counselling and support services to those who want to change their behaviour.

If you or someone you know needs help to change abusive behaviours, visit The Change Project.

You can watch Gymnastics: A Culture of Abuse? on ITVX.