Police have received hundreds of reports of child sexual abuse in high street hotel chains, data shared exclusively with BBC News shows. Of the 504 offences recorded in hotels in 2023, 92% (464) involved physical contact with a child, while 40% (203) were recorded as rape.

The figures, provided by the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC), reveal where specific hotels were recorded most were budget chain hotels. The NPCC says police forces are “working with hotels to try and raise awareness of child sexual exploitation”. Under the name Operation Makesafe, hotel staff have been trained to identify signs of sexual exploitation and told how to report issues to the police.

“Once you’re behind that hotel bedroom door, there’s a degree of privacy that perpetrators often don’t find elsewhere when they commit abuse,” says Phil Ashford, from the NPCC child sexual exploitation taskforce.

Assistant Chief Constable Becky Riggs from the NPCC says Operation Makesafe also aims to highlight the positive work being done by hotels. She said the impact of the partnership “cannot be overestimated”.

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