Child protection training put to the test in Canterbury hotels

Undercover officers have visited hotel staff across Canterbury in order to test their ability to spot vulnerable children.

The specialised operation has been carried out in Canterbury on Friday 17 October 2025 to assess how well the city’s hospitality sector is applying child protection training.

The exercise involved officers from Kent Police, supported by Kent Police Cadet volunteers, who visited six hotels across the city. Officers posed as guests attempting to book accommodation under circumstances that could raise safeguarding concerns.

Officers were looking for evidence that staff were taking proportionate measures to identify potential child exploitation. At the end of the visits, a review was completed to score the effectiveness of staff in identifying children at risk of abuse or trafficking.

Results

All six businesses that were visited received positive assessments, with staff showing good knowledge of child protection training. Following the exercise, officers returned to each hotel and identified themselves as police. They provided feedback on staff performance and offered training to further enhance their safeguarding plans, which all venues accepted.

Operation Makesafe is a nationwide initiative designed to assist the hotel sector in identifying potential victims of child exploitation. Throughout 2025, the exercise has been conducted in all 12 districts across Kent.

Superintendent Peter Steenhuis said:

‘This operation was undertaken by Kent Police’s Child Centred Policing Team as part of our drive to prevent children from harm through positive engagement and education. 

‘Every member of staff our officers engaged with showed signs of concern and vigilance. Based on our review, we are confident that in each location, action would have been taken to intervene, or report concerns to police in a real-life scenario.’