A specialised operational lead officer has also been appointed as the sixth member of the team.

A dedicated contact email address for the SWLOs has also been introduced to allow sex workers to contact them directly.

The moves were announced after a private meeting attended by the PSNI, advocacy groups and sex workers.

Attendees included representatives from the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI), the Rainbow Project, UglyMugs.ie and The Rowan, Northern Ireland’s regional sexual assault referral centre (SARC).

Kate McGrew, sex worker and SWAI director, said: “This meeting provided an important opportunity for sex workers to provide feedback to the PSNI and for everyone present to recommit to working in partnership on an ongoing basis.

“For reasons of privacy, we will not be publicly detailing the discussions that took place. However, SWAI is very pleased that the PSNI want to listen to and support sex workers.”