Juliette has saved my life by working with me. She has shown me that there is more to life and she’s put me back on the rails to a healthy and happy life. She is the best worker I have ever had.
Yusuf, young person
Pan Merseyside Child Exploitation and Missing from Home
Working alongside young people, their families and the police to find out what has caused young people to run away, and prevent them from running away again in the future.
On this page
- On this page
- Our approach
- Frequently asked questions
- Latest news
- Our partners
- Contact
Our approach
The Pan Merseyside Child Exploitation and Missing from Home service provides support for young people who have run away from home, and who are at risk of being drawn into exploitation, drug and alcohol misuse, mental and sexual health issues, and/or exclusion from school and failure to meet educational milestones.
After each missing episode, a face-to-face interview with the young person is conducted after 72 hours, during which a needs-assessment is conducted.
Our case workers are very experienced in working with children and young people and are all committed to making sure children have the best support to move on positively with their lives.
Catch22’s Pan Merseyside Child Exploitation and Missing from Home service is an independent service. Our team are not part of social care or the police.
Frequently asked questions
Catch22 have been contacted because I have been missing. What happens next?
If you have been missing, our case workers will contact you and arrange to see you at a time and place you prefer and in the way you feel most comfortable – in person, by phone or by video call. This will just be a chat to check you are OK and to see if there’s anything you need to stop you going missing again.
We’re here to listen and support you, not tell you off.
Catch22 have been contacted because adults believe I am at risk of exploitation. What happens next?
If you are at risk of exploitation, our case worker will contact you and arrange to see you at a time and place you prefer and in the way you feel most comfortable. They will work with you to understand what’s been going on in your life and to explain how people can exploit you for their own benefit.
You’re not in trouble; if you’ve been groomed or exploited, it’s not your fault.
The case worker will meet with you regularly until both of you feel you are safe and happy, and you have good people around you who want the best for you. There is no set programme and no set amount of time the support will last. You are an individual and our support is tailored to your individual needs.
My child has been reported missing to the police. What support do you offer?
Any child reported missing to Merseyside Police will automatically be referred into Catch22 for a brief intervention called a ‘Return Home Interview’.
This is an informal chat to see whether the young person is OK, to establish the reasons why they went missing and what needs to be put in place to prevent them going missing again.
Our case workers can also provide advice and support for parents.
My child is at risk of exploitation. What happens next?
Children deemed to be at risk of Child Exploitation (CE) can be referred into Catch22 via the local authority MACE (Multi Agency Child Exploitation Meeting).
On receipt of a referral, our service coordinators assess the referral and discuss the best ways of supporting the child and the best person to deliver this with the referrer and parents/carers.
This could include topics including (but are not limited to) online safety, sharing indecent images, self-esteem and confidence building, healthy relationships, grooming and grooming models, and consent.
Caseworkers can also assist in providing positive diversionary activities for children and families at risk of or involved in child criminal exploitation, gangs and county lines activity.
Does Catch22 offer any support for professionals working with young people at risk of exploitation or missing?
Our service coordinators can provide awareness training, support, advice and resources for multi-agency professionals working with children and young people at risk of exploitation and going missing.
News and resources
Resources are listed chronologically.
Please use these arrows to see more.
Child exploitation
20 Sep 2024
What do we mean by “child criminal exploitation”? The need for a clear rights-based legal definition
Child exploitation
1 May 2025
The new Catch22 Youth Brand
Child exploitation
24 Feb 2025
Legislation to criminalise child criminal exploitation welcome – but must go further
Child exploitation
17 Jan 2025
Catch22 response to Youth Select Committee Social Media and Youth Violence Inquiry
Child exploitation
30 Sep 2024
Young People and Families: Annual report 2023-2024
Child exploitation
20 Sep 2024
Catch22 publishes a new paper calling for Child Criminal Exploitation to be defined in law.
Child exploitation
12 Aug 2024
Redthread set to merge with Catch22
Child exploitation
10 Jul 2024
Gamifying education: an ‘end game’ for child exploitation?
Child exploitation
21 Jun 2024
What is sextortion?
Child exploitation
13 Jun 2024
Missing services: product card
Child exploitation
28 May 2024
Pan Merseyside Child Exploitation and Missing from Home: Annual report 2023-2024
Child exploitation
13 Mar 2024
The urgent need for training to safeguard vulnerable youth from exploitation
Child exploitation
23 Feb 2024
Child financial exploitation: a guide
Child exploitation
6 Feb 2024
Is someone asking you for a nude picture?
17 Nov 2023
Catch22 responds to call for evidence on reducing the harm from illegal drugs
25 Oct 2023
Why early action holds the key to breaking the prison/reoffending cycle
Child exploitation
20 Sep 2023
Why frontline voices are critical to the policy making process
18 Sep 2023
Catch22 Manifesto: Reimagining public services
Child exploitation
7 Jun 2023
Illegal Migration Bill: more harm than good?
Child exploitation
19 Apr 2023
How do you recognise a victim of child exploitation?
Child exploitation
16 Feb 2023
Inequity in safeguarding
Child exploitation
19 Jan 2023
Online harms and online helps
Child exploitation
1 Dec 2022
Missing children and child exploitation
Child exploitation
17 Mar 2022
Catch22 responds to introduction of the Online Safety Bill
Child exploitation
17 Mar 2022
Young carers and child exploitation
Child exploitation
2 Mar 2022
Catch22 responds to Commission on Young Lives report
23 Feb 2022
Improving victims’ experience of the criminal justice system
Child exploitation
2 Feb 2022
Catch22 responds to IICSA report
Child exploitation
31 Jan 2022
Catch22 recommissioned to support victims of child exploitation across Merseyside
Child exploitation
21 Dec 2021
Reflecting on a decade of Return Home Interviews
Child exploitation
16 Dec 2021
Unrealistic sexpectations: online porn and young people
Child exploitation
13 Dec 2021
Catch22 releases Missing and Emotional Wellbeing report
Child exploitation
27 May 2021
Risk and Resilience Services: Supporting young people at risk of exploitation
Child exploitation
26 May 2021
SPACE talks Missing Incidents
Child exploitation
25 May 2021
Exploitation risk to missing and runaway children too often ignored
Child exploitation
1 Apr 2021
Transforming the lives of victims of crime and exploitation
23 Mar 2021
The four key principles of a “Good” Web
Child exploitation
18 Mar 2021
“Are you listening?”
Child exploitation
17 Mar 2021
Child exploitation and criminal behaviour
Child exploitation
22 Jan 2021
Catch22 responds to Home Office “Tackling Child Sexual Abuse” strategy
Child exploitation
13 Jan 2021
Young People and Families: Annual Review 2019-2020
Child exploitation
29 Oct 2020
Catch22 receives generous donation from Tesco Mobile for victims of CSE
29 Jun 2020
Catch22 responds to call for evidence on "Public Services: Lessons from coronavirus"
Child exploitation
10 May 2020
Catch22’s child exploitation service adapts to remote support
Child exploitation
26 Mar 2020
Good practice guidance for Return Home Interviews delivered remotely
29 Nov 2019
Catch22 joins call to put young people at the heart of General Election
Child exploitation
17 Sep 2019
Catch22 responds to No Place at Home APPG Report
Child exploitation
28 Feb 2019
Why exploited children must be treated as victims
Child exploitation
21 Nov 2018
Councils and Catch22: Protecting children and young people
27 Mar 2017
Catch22 responds to the MOPAC Police and Crime Plan
Child exploitation
18 Mar 2017
Catch22 supports National Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Day
23 Jul 2015
Running the risks: the links between gang involvement and missing
Our partners
Contact Pan Merseyside Child Exploitation and Missing from Home
Vikki McKenna
Service Manager
Referrals for young people at risk of exploitation are received from Merseyside Police and Social Care across Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Liverpool. We are unable to take self-referrals or referrals from other agencies.
For further information, please reach out using our contact form, and a member of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Addresses
Solar Campus, 235 Leasowe Road, Wallasey, Wirral, CH45 8RE
Telephone Number
07979 241502Email Address
panmerseyside@catch-22.org.ukPrivacy notice
How we manage your data
Catch22 Charity Ltd. manages the data you provide in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- The Data Controller (the organisation that determines how your data is managed) is Catch22. Contact us if you have a query about how your data is managed.
- The Data Processor (the organisation that does data processing on behalf of Catch22) is Totally.Tech.
- We are committed to giving you (the Data Subject in legal terms) an easy way to exercise your eight rights under the GDPR.
- We retain your data for as long as you allow us to do so. You can exercise your right to erasure at any time however, there may be some instances where we need to retain your information for a longer duration for legal reasons, such as when applying for a job with Catch22.
- Catch22 uses Click4Asistance as an online chat tool. By providing information, you consent to Click4Assistance collecting and processing this information according to their privacy policy.
What information do we collect?
Catch22 may collect, store and use the following kinds of personal data:
- information about your computer and your visits to and use of this website, including your IP address, geographical location, browser type, referral source, length of visit and number of page views (cookies),
- information that you provide to us for the purpose of applying for a job or receiving job alerts (job applications / job alerts),
- subscribing to email newsletters including your name and email address (email newsletter),
- If using our online chat service Click4Assistance, information such as IP addresses, and chat transcripts will be collected. If you choose to provide them, personal data such as names, email addresses will be collected, or
- information that you submit that relates to a complaint, service feedback or enquiry (complaints / feedback and enquiries).
Specific detail of each processing activity is provided below.
Cookies
Cookies are text files that are stored on your web browser by a website’s server. Each cookie is unique to your browser, and will contain some anonymous information such as a unique identifier and the website domain name. This information is sent back to the server each time your browser requests a page from it. This enables the website server to identify and track your web browser via your unique, anonymous, identifier.
Catch22 only uses cookies on its website where they will support the functioning of its website and to improve the experience of its website visitors. These cookies may be created by Catch22’s website, or by third-party services that Catch22 uses, to enable its website to be run effectively.
Some, ‘necessary’ cookies are essential to the running of our website and are exempt from the requirement of consent as per the GDPR and PECR. Functional, analytical and advertising cookies are all optional, and we will only store these cookies on your browser where we have received your freely-given, specific, informed, and unambiguous consent.
Any information that is collected by Catch22 via cookies is processed in a way which does not, and cannot, identify an individual person. We do not make any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting the Catch22 website.
You can find out more about Catch22’s use of cookies, and how to opt-out of or delete cookies from your browser via our Cookies Statement.
Job applications
If you apply for a job with Catch22 using our hosted online job application system, this service will be provided by a data processor on our behalf (SmartRecruiters).
To process your application, we ask for your personal details including name and contact details. We will ask you about your previous experience, education, referees and for answers to questions relevant to the role you have applied for. The hiring managers for the role, along with our Recruitment and HR teams will have access to all of this information.
Catch22 processes your job application data for the purpose of its legitimate interest to process your HR information.
- If you are successful, the information you provide during the application process will be retained by us as part of your employee file for the duration of your employment plus six years following the end of your employment.
- If you are unsuccessful at any stage of the process, the information you have provided until that point will be retained for six months from the closure of the campaign.
- Equal opportunities information is retained for six months following the closure of the campaign whether you are successful or not.
For more information, please see the SmartRecruiters privacy notice.
Job alerts
Through the SmartRecruiters job application system, it is also possible to sign up for job alerts, which will let you know when new jobs that meet your criteria have been posted.
These alerts are managed by the data processor (SmartRecruiters) on our behalf, and will only be processed using your freely-given, specific, informed and unambiguous consent.
If at any point you wish to unsubscribe from SmartRecruiters job alerts, this can be done by clicking the unsubscribe link on the latest email. You can also log into your SmartRecruiters candidate profile to modify or withdraw your details.
For more information, please see the SmartRecruiters privacy notice.
Email newsletter
If you subscribe to Catch22’s newsletter and/or event mailing lists, you will receive regular communications relating to our work. These mailings will be facilitated by a third-party provider, such as Mailchimp or Salesforce (marketing platforms), and your data will be processed by a third-party client relationship management platform, Salesforce.
Catch22 will only process your contact details and send you newsletters following your freely-given, specific, informed and unambiguous consent.
You have the right to unsubscribe from any of our email mailing lists at any time. If you wish to unsubscribe from a Catch22 mailing list please click the unsubscribe link on the latest email or contact dpo@catch-22.org.uk to ensure that you do not continue to receive email newsletters from us. We will need to continue to hold your details after you have unsubscribed to ensure that we do not send you further communications.
For more information, please see the Mailchimp or Salesforce privacy notices as appropriate.
Feedback and enquiries
Catch22 processes the data submitted through any of our website contact forms for the purpose of receiving your message and responding to it under the lawful basis of consent, which you give when submitting the form.
We will only use the information supplied to us to deal with the enquiry and any subsequent issues, and to check on the level of service we provide.
These contact forms are processed using the WordPress plugin, Gravity Forms. When these forms are submitted to us, notification emails are automatically generated to send your enquiry to the appropriate team within Catch22 who will store your email for as long as is required to deal with your enquiry and any subsequent issues.
Form submissions are also stored within the Catch22 WordPress database for a period of 90 days. This allows us to identify if there are any issues with forms being received by our teams. After this time, forms and all accompanying personal data are automatically deleted from the system. Gravity Forms does not receive copies of any of forms, or any accompanying personal data, that are submitted via the Catch22 website.
If using our online chat service, Click4Assitance, data collected through the chat service may be shared internally within Catch22 to provide support and improve services.
You have the right to withdraw consent for us to contact you at any time by contacting dpo@catch-22.org.uk. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, which in the United Kingdom is the Information Commissioner’s Office.
For more information, please see the Gravity Forms privacy notice.
Complaints
Complaints can be submitted using our online feedback form, by emailing feedback@catch-22.org.uk, or by post. Catch22 undertakes the processing of your complaints data as part of its legitimate interests.
When we receive a complaint from a person we make up a file containing the details of the complaint. This normally contains the identity of the complainant and any other individuals involved in the complaint.
We will only use the personal information we collect to process the complaint and to check on the level of service we provide.
We usually have to disclose the complainant’s identity to whoever the complaint is about. This is inevitable where, for example, the accuracy of a person’s record is in dispute. If a complainant doesn’t want information identifying him or her to be disclosed, we will try to respect that. However, it may not be possible to handle a complaint on an anonymous basis.
We will keep personal information contained in complaint files in line with our retention policy. This means that information relating to a complaint will be retained for six years from closure. It will be retained in a secure environment and access to it will be restricted according to the ‘data minimisation’ principle.
For more information, please see the Complaints, Compliments and Feedback policy.
Use of data processors
The Data Processor (the organisation that does data processing on behalf of Catch22) is Totally.Tech.
Catch22 also works with third-party data processors to provide our:
- content management system (WordPress),
- website analytics (Google Analytics),
- marketing platform (Mailchimp),
- client relationship management platform (Salesforce),
- social media advertising campaigns (Meta Pixel, Twitter Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, TikTok Pixel),
- online chat service (Click4Assitance), and
- recruitment service (SmartRecruiters).
We have contracts in place with our data processors. This means that they cannot do anything with your personal information unless we have instructed them to do it. They will not share your personal information with any organisation apart from us. They will hold it and retain it for the period we instruct.
Individual Catch22 services may work with additional third-party data processors in line with their contractual requirements. For more information, please see the relevant Service Privacy Notice, which can be downloaded from their service page on this website, or found by searching for the service by name in our Policy Library.
Disclosures
Catch22 may disclose information about you to any of our employees, officers, agents, suppliers or data processors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes as set out in this privacy notice.
In addition, we may disclose information about you:
- to the extent that we are required to do so by law,
- in connection with any legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings, or
- in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk).
Except as provided in this privacy notice, Catch22 will not provide your information to third parties without your consent.
Security of your personal data
Catch22 will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information.
We will store all the personal information you provide on our secure, encrypted password and firewall protected servers. As data transmission over the internet is inherently insecure, we cannot guarantee the security of data sent over the internet.
Where information is held on our behalf by data processors, we will ensure, to the best of our ability, that they hold your information securely and in line with data protection legislation. We hold contracts with all data processors to make sure that they cannot do anything with your data unless we have instructed them to do so.
Notice amendments
We may update this privacy notice from time-to-time. Check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes.
Your rights
Please contact the Data Protection Officer if you have any queries regarding this Privacy Notice or if you would like to exercise or query any of the following rights afforded to you under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
- right to access
- right to erasure
- right to object
- right to rectification
- right to be informed
- right to restrict processing
- right to data portability
- rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling
- right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) – via the Complaints page on the ICO website or by calling 0303 123 1113
For further information on your rights, please visit the Individual Rights page on the ICO website.
Contact
If you have any questions about this privacy notice or of our treatment of your personal data, please email dpo@catch-22.org.uk or write to:
Data Protection Officer
Catch22
27 Pear Tree Street
London
EC1V 3AG
Data controller
Catch22’s data protection registration number is Z1473239
