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Pakistanis are four times more likely to be involved in cases related to child grooming than any other ethnicity, revealed a recent data. In the first nine months of 2024, 13.7 per cent of the criminals involved in grooming offences in the United Kingdom involved Pakistanis. The rate was 6.9 per cent in 2023.
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The organisation Hydrant Programme - established to improve the information about child sexual abuse cases - came up with the data after receiving flak for not offering quality data on the offenders and victims of child sexual abuse offences.
It also comes amid the political storm against UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer who faces criticism, for not supporting a national inquiry into grooming gangs. There have been concerns that authorities might hesitate to act against the groomer of Pakistani origins for fear of being called racist.
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It was also reported that in 2023, white perpetrators made up 70% of the offenders. Authorities are cautious about the data, noting that it only covers a portion of suspects since ethnicity is recorded only after interviews.
After the reports, experts are demanding more intense research to comprehend the reason behind the higher number of Pakistanis involved in these crimes.
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The British government is aware of the data gaps on the ethnicity of offenders and victims and is working to address the concerns, as per British media reports.
Richard Fewkes, director of the Hydrant Programme said in a statement, “There have never been prevalent studies around group-based offending in the UK that goes into the depth that gives us that measurement. So this is the best picture we’ve got."
(With inputs from agencies)