Hundreds of child sex offenders arrested as grooming soars 60pc

HUNDREDS of child sex offenders have been arrested in a crackdown as grooming offences soar 60 per cent in a year.

A police report said nearly 670 people were arrested for online sex crimes targeting children, with almost 1,200 youngsters ‘protected’ as a result of the operation.

Campaigners have warned of a ‘tsunami’ of online child sex offending, with grooming taking place ‘at unprecedented levels’.

Concern grew over youngsters being targeted by paedophiles online during lockdown as people spent more time at home.

The figures come as police chiefs warn looming budget cuts – planned for policing by the Scottish Government – could spark a rise in crime.

The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) annual report said 667 people had been arrested since September 2020, including 133 current or former registered sex offenders. A total of 1,170 children ‘had been protected’.

The SPA said: ‘Police Scotland has… continued to respond proactively with respect to child sexual abuse.’

Meanwhile, separate Police Scotland figures show the number of offences where children were groomed for ‘sexual purposes’ has risen by 60.3 per cent from 58 in 2020-21 to 93 in 2021-22. Taking, distribution and possession of indecent photos of children accounts for the largest proportion (34.5 per cent) of child sexual abuse crimes.

Overall, some 1,918 online child sexual abuse crimes were recorded in 2021-22, a decrease of 6.8 per cent (141 fewer crimes) compared with last year, but an increase of 11.3 per cent on the five-year average.

Police Scotland said it ‘continues to provide extensive contribution to a number of significant multi-agency strategic improvement programmes within child protection’. Earlier this year, Sir Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC children’s charity, said: ‘Online grooming is taking place at unprecedented levels and only concerted action will turn the tide on this tsunami of preventable abuse.’

Scottish Tory community safety spokesman Russell Findlay said: ‘We expect all predators who target children should feel the full force of the law.

‘However, that is often not the case, as many victims and their families discover. They are left in limbo, with extreme court delays trapping them in a perpetual state of anxiety.’

He added: ‘Last week’s doomsday warnings of extreme spending cuts will only make the situation worse, putting our most vulnerable at increased risk.’

‘Tsunami of abuse’