Guest blog: A day in the life of a Child Exploitation Prevention Officer.

Today is Child Exploitation Awareness Day, we are sharing a guest blog from Andri Nicolaou, Child Exploitation Prevention Officer for Avon and Somerset Police.

“Every child / young person has a future and every interaction you have is a positive intervention”.

An introduction to me:

Hello, everyone! My name is Andri Nicolaou, I’m from Cyprus originally and was a Sergeant in the Cyprus Army for 10 years before I moved to Bristol in 2003.

I work across Knife Crime, Modern slavery, Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE), Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) and VAWG by engaging the police, a range of other professionals, young people, business and public to raise awareness and ultimately to reduce harm to children and young people.

I’m excited to share with you a glimpse into my working life as the child exploitation prevention officer for the force. I hope this post gives you some insight and perhaps even inspires you.

How my day starts:

My day usually starts very early, especially when I must drive to places two to three hours away. I never leave my house without checking my emails and messages as there may be a last-minute cancellation (I apologise if you’ve ever received emails from me at 5am).

No two days are the same in my role. The dynamic nature of my job keeps things exciting and ensures that I am constantly learning and adapting. Whether it’s addressing new challenges, implementing innovative solutions, or collaborating with colleagues on complex cases, there’s always something new to engage with. This variety not only keeps me on my toes but also helps me grow professionally and personally.

Part of my role is proactively working with victims of CE through outreach work, acting upon intelligence, and attending groups, institutions, and locations to help and educate.

I am also building relationships to develop victim confidence, build community relationships that result in improved intelligence, enable locational disruption by working with taxi drivers and hotels for example, and develop partnership working.

Young people say that I am a loud crazy Greek Lady. It’s so true!!!!!!!!!!!

What my role includes?

Working with young people:

• I provide support either 1:1, to groups.
• Attending various youth centres and spending time, run session for young people.
• Home visits if needed to build relationships between young people, family and police.
• Attending children’s homes to build relationships with some of our more vulnerable young people, sometimes through cooking, board games etc.

Working with partners:

• I work and liaise with specialist children’s homes across our force and build effective relationships.
• I attend Health Safeguarding Conferences and provide awareness sessions for health professionals.
• I work closely with local authority education departments and schools to raise exploitation awareness and respond to any issues identified.
• I undertake multi-agency networking to provide advice and support regarding CE, and safeguarding children.

Working with our communities:

• I organise and provide awareness raising sessions for staff in schools and children’s homes, school children, and parents about exploitation, trafficking, and online grooming.
• Organise and facilitate exploitation public awareness days.
• Design and distribute appropriate literature to raise awareness of exploitation.
• Work with faith groups, scouts, football organisations etc.

Working with our teams:

• I provide support to our Investigations teams in relation to disruption and linking to partner agencies.
• Advise Neighbourhood teams on the support available to safeguard children / disrupt perpetrators.
• Work with the national Operation Makesafe Team – a national initiative focused on making sure that people working in the business sectors are aware of the early warning signs of child exploitation.
• Provide awareness raising sessions with taxi drivers, hotel staff, and nighttime economy. This includes, working and coordinating this with our Topaz detective sergeants to run Operation Makesafe for hotels and taxis throughout the year.

Why I love my job?

One of the main reasons I love my job is the sheer variety and impact it has on a daily basis. Every day is different, bringing new challenges and opportunities to learn and grow.

The most fulfilling aspect of my job is when I get disclosures from children or young people. These moments are not just part of the job—they are deeply personal and profoundly impactful. Being in a position to help them and change their lives for the better is the best feeling in the world. Knowing that my work directly contributes to their safety, well-being, and future is incredibly motivating.

The relationships I build with the children and young people I work with are incredibly meaningful. Gaining their trust and providing a safe space for them to open up is a privilege. These connections are at the heart of why I do what I do. Every success story, every cuddle, every hello I get, no matter how small, is a testament to the positive impact of our efforts.

Please get in touch if you have any questions or want to know more about how I can support your team.