Examples of disruption tactics include:
- location based interventions – closing or monitoring unsafe premises, increasing police presence in places and spaces where children and young people are coming to harm, or using licencing powers to restrict access
- online disruption – reporting harmful content or accounts, working with tech platforms to remove exploitative material, and educating children, young people and their parents/carers on digital safety
- peer group disruption – relocating individuals, supporting positive friendship groups, or using restorative approaches to address harmful group dynamics
- perpetrator-focused actions – civil orders such as Child Abduction Warning Notices and Sexual Risk Orders, surveillance, or partnership intelligence sharing to limit access to victims
- community engagement – working with local businesses, transport providers, and community leaders to raise awareness and build protective networks (known as Community Guardians)
Where disruption tactics involve a child or young person, for example, moving a child in care to a new home, disruption should be:
- trauma informed – avoid further harm or distress
- rights based and collaborative – involve the child/young person in decision making
- proportionate – balancing immediate safety with long term impact
The Gov.uk: Child exploitation disruption toolkit provides more information about disruption tactics to manage risks to children and young people who are at risk of, or being, exploited.