Approach to tackling grooming gangs needs to swift but well thought-out - The Yorkshire Post says

But in order to crackdown on grooming gangs, well thought out and swift action is needed.

New support for local police forces is long overdue as is introducing a mandatory duty on professionals working with children to report concerns about sexual abuse.

No one, regardless of their political persuasion, geographic location, professional position or cultural identity, should rest easy until the scourge of child abuse is stamped out.

The human cost makes it an imperative for us to drive a societal change that protects young women and girls.

Yorkshire knows the cost. Rotherham was left scarred after the child grooming scandal there came to light a decade ago. Yet it has also shown that steps can be taken to constructively tackle this issue.

Authorities should not be left fearing being labelled “bigoted” for taking steps to identifying patterns in child sexual exploitation. And we need a better understanding of the context of communities where such crimes have occurred.

However, to claim that such vile crimes are perpetrated by minority groups risks undermining the fight against exploitation. The NSPCC emphasised that an excessive focus on race could create new “blind spots”. Politicising the issue is not the way forward. Neither is demonising those on the frontline for not spotting the signs of child abuse. Teachers are already juggling huge workloads. That is why specialists are needed to ensure that young children are protected. Ultimately, to stamp out the scourge of child exploitation, the focus should be on punishment.