Child abuse prosecutions up by 85 per cent (From This is Hampshire)

Child abuse prosecutions up by 85 per cent

11:00am Sunday 26th July 2009 in

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PROSECUTIONS for child abuse in Hampshire have gone up by 85 per cent, figures seen by Romsey MP Sandra Gidley show.

There were 104 prosecutions for child abuse offenses in 2004 and 195 in 2007, the last year for which figures are currently available.

This is a greater increase than counties of a comparable size, such as South Yorkshire, where prosecutions have risen from 61 to 101 over the same period – an increase of 39 per cent.

Mrs Gidley said: “The police must be congratulated for bringing more offenders to justice. But any case of child abuse is one case too many.

“The Government urgently needs to step up its funding of children’s support services, so vulnerable children will be protected, and provide more training for professionals to help deal with abuse cases.

“We also need to ensure that more people are being caught, not more children are being abused. Every child deserves to be safe and free from fear.”