The number of children being groomed online in the East Midlands has reached record levels
Figures show it's more than doubled in our region since the offence first came into force 7 years ago
Last updated 1st Nov 2024
We're hearing the number of children being groomed online in the East Midlands has more than doubled since records began.
Data released by Lincolnshire police shows the number of incidents have returned to pre-pandemic levels, with 101 cases recorded in Lincolnshire last year alone.
Online grooming crimes remain at record levels across the East Midlands, with more than 580 offences recorded last year, new data compiled by the NSPCC reveals.
The figures provided by Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire police forces show 587 Sexual Communication with a Child offences were recorded in 2023/24 – more than double the figures in 2017/18 when the offence first came into force.
"I did send him pictures, but I didn’t like it and I didn’t want to do it anymore. " - 14 year old boy
Meanwhile, the number of online grooming crimes recorded by police forces across the UK has increased by 89% in six years, with more than 7,000 offences recorded last year.
The new findings reveal that Snapchat was the most popular platform used by perpetrators to target children online last year.
A Snapchat spokesperson said: “Any sexual exploitation of young people is horrific and illegal and we have zero tolerance for it on Snapchat.
"If we identify such activity, or it is reported to us, we remove the content, disable the account, take steps to prevent the offender from creating additional accounts, and report them to the authorities.
"We have extra protections, including in-app warnings to make it difficult for teens to be contacted by strangers, and our in-app Family Centre lets parents see who their teens are talking to, and who their friends are.”
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.
This child, was just 14 when he was groomed online.
He shared: “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.”
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.
"Child sexual abuse is a vile crime that inflicts long-lasting trauma on victims" - Minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls
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.”
National Police Chief’s Council Lead for Child Protection and Abuse Investigations, 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.”
Minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, Jess Phillips, said:
"Child sexual abuse is a vile crime that inflicts long-lasting trauma on victims and the law is clear - the creation, possession and distribution of child sexual abuse images, and grooming a child is illegal.
"I met with law enforcement leads and the NCA (National Crime Agency) only last week to hear about the tremendous work they do to bring these offenders to justice.
"Social media companies have a responsibility to stop this vile abuse from happening on their platforms.
"Under the Online Safety Act they will have to stop this kind of illegal content being shared on their sites, including on private and encrypted messaging services, or face significant fines.
"The shocking case involving Alexander McCartney, who alone groomed over 3,500 children, demonstrates more clearly than ever that they should act now and not wait for enforcement by the regulator."
“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
An Ofcom spokesperson said:
"From December, tech firms will be legally required to start taking action under the Online Safety Act, and they'll have to do far more to protect children.
"Our draft codes of practice include robust measures that will help prevent grooming by making it harder for perpetrators to contact children.
"We're prepared to use the full extent of our enforcement powers against any companies that come up short when the time comes."