CEOP has carried out a rapid assessment of ‘localised grooming’ in the UK. This is a form of sexual exploitation, previously referred to as ‘on street grooming’ in the media, where children have been groomed and sexually exploited by an offender, having initially met in a location outside their home, usually in a public place (such as a park, cinema, on the street or at a friend’s house). Offenders often act in concert, establishing a relationship with a child or children before sexually exploiting them. Some victims of ‘street grooming’ may believe that the offender is in fact an older ‘boyfriend’, introducing peers to the offender group who may also be sexually exploited. Abuse may occur at a number of locations within a local area and on several occasions. ‘Localised grooming’ has been subject to considerable media attention following a number of prosecutions of adult males for the grooming and sexually exploitation of children and young people in various towns and cities in the UK. Several NGOs have reported that large numbers of victims of this type of child sexual exploitation have accessed their services across the UK. However, there have been comparatively few prosecutions, and there is a general lack of knowledge of grooming and sexual exploitation in the UK and the threats posed to children and young people. This thematic assessment was undertaken with four principle objectives: 1. Assess the size and scale of ‘localised grooming’ in proportion to the overall known picture of sexual exploitation of children under the age of 18 in the UK 2. Establish any patterns of offending profile or victim experience 3. Assess the effectiveness of processes which might help identify such offending or potential victims 4. Recommend action to be taken to reduce the risk in future, including any urgent action that becomes apparent It was aimed to determine the known extent of child sexual exploitation, based on intelligence and information held by relevant agencies, and to determine the proportion of cases which fit the profile of ‘localised grooming’. This assessment therefore represents an audit of the current knowledge of the scale of child sexual exploitation among those police forces, LSCBs, children’s services and service providers who responded to the request for information.