Almost 4,000 (3,936) online grooming crimes have been recorded by police across the South East of England since the offence first came into force in 2017, new data compiled by the NSPCC reveals.
The figures provided by police forces in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight show 680 Sexual Communication with a Child offences were recorded in 2023/24 –80% more than in 2017/18 (378) when the offence was established.
Huge increase in reported online grooming crimes
Meanwhile, the number of online grooming crimes recorded by police forces across the UK has increased by 89% since 2017/18, with more than 7,000 offences recorded last year (2023/24).
The new findings reveal that Snapchat was the most popular platform used by perpetrators to target children online last year, with the messaging app present in almost half (48%) of grooming cases across the UK where the means of communication was disclosed.
| Police Force | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampshire/IW | 152 | 181 | 291 | 18 | 279 | 95 | |
| Kent | 122 | 140 | 176 | 224 | 179 | 230 | 264 |
| Surrey | 27 | 76 | 67 | 78 | 63 | 74 | 98 |
| Sussex* | 77 | 76 | 145 | 205 | 187 | 189 | 223 |
| South East | 378 | 473 | 679 | 525 | 429 | 772 | 680 |
Other platforms also popular
Meta platforms were also popular with offenders, featuring in over a quarter of UK recorded cases where a platform was known, with WhatsApp (12%), Facebook and Messenger (10%), and Instagram (6%) all being used to abuse children.
Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok were all used in cross-platform grooming where the pattern of abuse points to a culture where the first point of contact between children and would-be offenders is on the open web.
This can include social media chat apps, video games and messaging apps on consoles, dating sites and chatrooms. Children are then encouraged to continue communication on private and encrypted messaging platforms where abuse can proceed undetected.
Five-year-old boy the youngest victim
Girls are predominantly targeted by offenders for online grooming, making up 81% of total UK recorded cases where gender was known in 2023/24.
The youngest victim of online grooming in 2023/24 was a five-year-old boy.
Thomas was 14 when he was groomed online
Thomas said,
“Our first conversation was quite simple. I was just chatting. The only way I can describe it is like having the most supportive person that you could ever meet. After about a month, the pressure started to build of him trying to prove that I was gay. That’s when he started sending explicit pictures and pressuring me to send images to him. I did send him pictures, but I didn’t like it and I didn’t want to do it anymore.
“He said he had saved the images and would send them to everyone if I stopped sending more pictures. There was a constant fear in the back of my mind. It wasn’t easy but I managed to block him on all sites and carry on with my life.”
Call for Ofcom to tighten grip on social media platforms
The NSPCC has issued these findings a year on from the Online Safety Act being passed.
The charity is urging Ofcom to significantly strengthen the rules social media platforms must follow to tackle child sexual abuse on their products.
They say the regulator currently puts too much focus on acting after harm has taken place rather than being proactive to ensure the design features of social media apps are not contributing to abuse.
The NSPCC is also calling on the Government to strengthen legislation to ensure child sexual abuse is disrupted in private messages such as on Snapchat and WhatsApp.
Prevalence of Snapchat offences
The charity’s Voice of Online Youth young people’s group were not surprised at the prevalence of Snapchat in offences.
Liidia, 13 from Glasgow, said,
“Snapchat has disappearing messages, and that makes it easier for people to hide things they shouldn’t be doing. Another problem is that Snapchat has this feature where you can show your location to everyone. If you’re not careful, you might end up showing where you are to people you don’t know, which is super risky.
“And honestly, not all the rules in Snapchat are strict, so some people take advantage of that to do bad things. Apps should have better ways for us to report bad things, and they should always get updated to protect us better with the latest security tech.”
Wanless: It is clear that much of this abuse is taking place in private messaging
Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said,
“One year since the Online Safety Act became law and we are still waiting for tech companies to make their platforms safe for children.
“We need ambitious regulation by Ofcom who must significantly strengthen their current approach to make companies address how their products are being exploited by offenders.
“It is clear that much of this abuse is taking place in private messaging which is why we also need the UK Government to strengthen the Online Safety Act to give Ofcom more legal certainty to tackle child sexual abuse on the likes of Snapchat and WhatsApp.”
Riggs: Policing will not stop in its fight against those who commit these horrific crimes
National Police Chief’s Council Lead for Child Protection and Abuse Investigations (CPAI) Becky Riggs said,
“The numbers in this NSPCC data are shocking and policing joins partners in urging tech companies and Ofcom to fulfil their legal and moral obligations to keep children safe from harm within the online communities they have created.
“A year on from the Online Safety Act being passed, it is imperative that the responsibility of safeguarding children online is placed with the companies who create spaces for them, and the regulator strengthens rules that social media platforms must follow.
“Policing will not stop in its fight against those who commit these horrific crimes. We cannot do this alone, so while we continue to pursue and prosecute those who abuse and exploit children, we repeat our call for more to be done by companies in this space.”
News shared b Sophie on behalf of NSPCC. Ed
