Overview
- Police data obtained by the NSPCC show 7,263 online grooming offences in the year to March, almost double the tally in 2018.
- In 2,111 cases where a platform was identified, about 40% involved Snapchat, with roughly 9% each on WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.
- The NSPCC warns recorded figures understate the true scale because much abuse occurs in private spaces that are hard to detect.
- Police Scotland has logged 3,158 Communicating Indecently with a Child offences since 2020, highlighting the scale beyond England and Wales.
- Charities and police leaders call for metadata analysis, on-device nude image scanning and barriers between adult and child accounts, arguing these steps can be implemented without reading private messages.