Two leading global organisations have donated £1,600 to a Derby charity that tackles child sexual exploitation

Two leading global organisations have donated £1,600 to a Derby charity that tackles child sexual exploitation.

The Fingerprint Society raised £600 for Safe and Sound Derby at its annual educational conference and a further £1,000 was donated by 3M Cogent, one of the conference sponsors. 

Every year since its formation in 1974, the Fingerprint Society has held an annual educational conference for forensic professionals and academics across the world.

During the conferences, fund-raising activities take place to raise money for a chosen charity which is concerned with youth projects and crime prevention or supporting victims of crime and their families.

This year the conference was held in Swanwick and the chosen charity was Safe and Sound Derby.

Organisers became aware of the charity due to Operation Retriever, a large scale investigation into child sexual exploitation in Derby.

During the conference the society sold personalised fingerprint key rings, charged delegates to attend specialist seminars and ran a sweepstake for the Grand National Horse Race.

Geoff Hunt is business development manager at 3M Cogent, an American firm which produces state-of-the-art fingerprint identification systems for Government and law enforcement agencies worldwide.

He said he was impressed by Safe and Sound Derby when he visited the charity.

He said: “We are pleased to be able to support the fantastic work of Safe and Sound Derby, we know our donation will directly help children who have been abused and groomed, and help those who are  vulnerable and at risk.

“It’s been good to visit the charity and see all their work first hand, and to learn about the work they’re also doing to help parents.  ”

Nathalie Walters, chief executive of Safe and Sound Derby, said they were very grateful for the donations.

She said: “As a charity we rely on grants and donations so we would like to extend our sincere thanks to The Fingerprint Society and 3M Cogent for their support. The money will help us to provide vital services in our fight against child sexual exploitation.”