OP MAKESAFE - Good News Update

Good Afternoon All

Following on from you all signing up to Herts Connected, I wanted to highlight some great work by Premier Inn Hemel Central around Operation Makesafe.

On 17th October 2025, Herts Police received a report from staff at that location stating that they suspected that a female under 16 years of age was staying in a room with a male in his mid-twenties. Staff had witnessed the male check in alone, and then be joined a few hours later by a lone female who was young in appearance. Police attended the location quickly and identified that both parties were actually over 18 so no offences had occurred. However, this is exactly the type of thing that needs to be spotted and reported. This could easily have been a young underage female being exploited by an older male and due to the quick actions of the staff at the hotel, Police would have been able to attend and prevent any potential sexual offences from occurring.

Operation Makesafe works to prevent child sexual exploitation, specifically incidents which take place in hotels and other forms of accommodation within the hospitality industry. 

When making calls to Police regarding these types of concerns, please quote Operation Makesafe and remember to provide the following:

We know this type of incidents are reported regularly by hotels across the county but wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some specific good work.

Kind Regards

PC 2604 Matthew Howell

HALO – Child Sexual Exploitation Team
Hertfordshire Police HQ

Need to contact the police? Follow the 5 steps.

Right service? Is it a police issue or is another service better suited? Check online at askthe.police.uk

Check online. Is the information already on our website, herts.police.uk?

Report online. Has a crime already happened and do you want to report it? You can do so at herts.police.uk/report.

Live chat/call 101. Do you want to speak directly to someone? Use live chat online at herts.police.uk/contact or call our non-emergency number 101.

Call 999. Is it an emergency? Is a crime happening right now, or is a life or property at risk?

You can also find a wealth of advice and information at herts.police.uk, where there is a specific page dedicated to CSE information.