The figures, provided by North Wales Police, South Wales Police, Dyfed Powys Police and Gwent Police show that 549 Sexual Communication with Child offences were recorded last year - a 100% increase since the offence was introduced in 2017/18.
Dyfed-Powys Police recorded 82 instances, compared to 19 in 2017/18 and North Wales Police recorded 118.
Online grooming offences have also hit record levels across the UK, with Snapchat, WhatsApp, and Facebook emerging as the top platforms where these crimes take place.
The figures, provided by 44 UK police forces, show that 7,263 Sexual Communication with a Child offences were recorded last year*. Where police forces could be directly compared, the number of crimes had almost doubled (99%) from the first year of when the offence came into force in 2017/18.
Across the UK, of the 2,111 offences where police could identify the platform used, 40% took place on Snapchat, 9% on WhatsApp and 9% on Facebook and Instagram.
Where gender was known, 80% of children targeted were girls. Meanwhile, the youngest victim of online grooming recorded was a 4-year-old boy.
The charity highlights that while these are the offences recorded by police; the real number of crimes is likely to be much higher due to abuse happening in private spaces where harms can be harder to detect.
To tackle this issue, the NSPCC is publishing new research setting out solutions which can be used to prevent, detect and disrupt grooming in private messaging spaces.
Online child sexual abuse crimes can have a long-term impact on a child, leaving them with feelings of guilt, shame, depression, confusion, anxiety and fear.
One 14-year-old who contacted Childline said: “I feel so insecure all the time, so, when this guy I’ve met online, who’s a few years older, started flirting with me, that made me feel so special. He seemed to care, but now he’s insisting I send him nudes, and I don’t know if he just gave me attention, so I’d send him nudes. I feel like I’ve been tricked but I’m afraid what he might do if I just block him. I can’t control how anxious this makes me feel.”
Another 14-year-old girl who contacted Childline said: “It started with these guys adding me on Snap, I could see we had mutuals and they said they knew Becca from my school. I soon realised these were guys in their 30s trying to get sexual images of me and unadded them straight away. It’s made me feel really scared and uncomfortable.”
The charity’s new research identifies cycles of behaviours that perpetrators use, such as creating multiple different profiles and manipulating young users to engage with them across different platforms.
In response, the NSPCC is urging Ofcom and tech companies to take swift action on the recommendations set out in the report, so that they can better identify and prevent online grooming.
Recommendations include:
· Implementing tools on a child’s phone that can scan for nude images and identify child sexual abuse material, before its shared.
· Using metadata analysis, which uses background information, like when, where, and how someone is using a platform, to spot suspicious patterns. It does not read private messages, but it can flag behaviours that suggest grooming, such as adults repeatedly contacting large numbers of children or creating fake profiles.
· Create barriers for adult profiles engaging children on social media platforms, like restrictions on who they can search and how many people they can contact.
· Tech platform leaders should commit to delivering services which effectively support and balance user safety and privacy.
The research shows that safety measures must be introduced at the same time to be effective, working in tandem to ensure harm is prevented across the grooming cycle.
The NSPCC is urging tech companies, Ofcom, and Government to take leadership on addressing this devastating crime and commit to using every tool available to them to stop perpetrators in their tracks.
Chris Sherwood, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: "It’s deeply alarming that online grooming crimes have reached a record high across the UK, taking place on the very platforms children use every day.
“At Childline, we hear first-hand how grooming can devastate young lives. The trauma doesn’t end when the messages stop, it can leave children battling anxiety, depression, and shame for years.
“Tech companies must act now to prevent further escalation. The tools the NSPCC sets out to protect children are ready to use and urgently needed. Importantly, they mean that services can keep children safe while protecting all user’s privacy. Children’s safety must be built into platform design from the start, not treated as an afterthought.”
Kerry Smith, Chief Executive of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said: “The internet has opened a door into millions of homes, giving predators access to children. The harms are very real and, as this data shows, are affecting children everywhere.
“Safety should be something which is built into all services and platforms from the bottom up, not tacked on as an afterthought. There should be absolutely nowhere for predators to hide online.
“Tech companies must do everything they can, including in end-to-end encrypted spaces, to keep children safe. It is clear now that this can be done effectively without compromising users’ privacy. There really is no excuse – and the alternative is allowing children to continue to suffer.”
National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Child Protection and Abuse Investigation A/Chief Constable Becky Riggs said: “Police forces and law enforcement agencies are working tirelessly to investigate these crimes, safeguard victims, and bring offenders to justice. However, policing alone cannot stem the tide of online abuse. We need technology companies to take responsibility for the safety of children on their platforms.
“Children’s safety must be embedded into platform design — not treated as an afterthought. We urge tech companies to act swiftly and decisively, working in partnership with policing and child protection experts to ensure online spaces are safe for all users.
“National policing is working closely with Ofcom to support the implementation of the Online Safety Bill, which marks a significant step forward in regulating digital platforms and enforcing child safety standards. This partnership is vital to ensuring that the voices of law enforcement and child protection professionals are reflected in how online harms are addressed.”
Dyfed-Powys Police says grooming is an offence and gf you suspect a person is being groomed, even if you’re not sure, to tell someone.
You can contact 999 if you believe someone is about to be attacked or hurt?
Otherwise, contact 101.
Other organisations that can help include NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.
Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) which is a law enforcement agency keeping children and young people safe from sexual exploitation and abuse.
Childline is a free, private and confidential service where children can talk to a trained counsellor about anything that’s troubling them, any time of day.
Lucy Faithfull Foundation is a UK-wide charity set up to tackle child sexual abuse.
Victim Support is a national charity dedicated to helping anyone affected by crime – not just victims and witnesses, but friends, family and anyone else caught up in the aftermath.
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