Region reports 563 online grooming cases in 18 months

POLICE in the South West received more than 550 reports of adults grooming children online in 18 months, with most taking place over social media platform Instagram.

Since the Sexual Communication with a Child offence was introduced in April 2017, the region’s five forces recorded 563 reports of the alleged acts up to last September.

Children’s charity NSPCC has said the figures provide “overwhelming evidence” the children are not safe using social media networks alone.

The offence takes place when an adult uses the internet to obtain sexual gratification or when communication with a child is of sexual nature. It can include the sending and receiving of images.

Nationally, there were 5,161 of the offences recorded by police over the 18-month period.

In the South West, Avon and Somerset recorded the most, 300, followed by Devon and Cornwall, 94, and Dorset, 66.

Wiltshire Police recorded 64 and Gloucestershire Police 39.

Nationally, 32 per cent of the offences involved Instagram, 23 per cent Facebook and 14 per cent Snapchat. Most of the the victims were girls aged between 12 and 15, but they also included a child as young as five.

The NSPCC is urging the Government to improve regulation of social media companies backed with fines if they fail to uphold standards aimed at protecting children.

The Government is set to publish an Online Harms White Paper in the coming months.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: “These figures are overwhelming evidence that keeping children safe cannot be left to social networks.

“We cannot wait for the next tragedy before tech companies are made to act. It is hugely concerning to see the sharp spike in grooming offences on Instagram, and it is vital that the platform designs basic protection more carefully into the service it offers young people.”

“After 10 years of failed self-regulation by social networks, it is crucial that the Government’s imminent Online Harms White Paper includes new laws that tackle online grooming once and for all.”

The charity has also put forward a case study of a 13-year-old girl from the South East who was groomed online by a 24-year-old man, using Facebook and Snapchat. The pair arranged to meet and the girl was raped.

The girl’s mother said: “We felt as though we had failed as parents. We knew about these social media sites, we thought we were doing everything we could to ensure our children’s safety when they were online, but we still couldn’t protect her. Somebody has got to take responsibility for what happens to children on their platforms.”