Online harassment / CSE of under 18s

Request

Please could you provide me with the number of crimes reported that include

1. Harassment (with online/ cyber flag OR where key words “online gaming”,
“online dating”, “WhatsApp”, “Tiktok”,“Instagram”, “snapchat” are used )
where the victim is under 18.

2. Disclosure of private sexual photographs and videos with intent to cause
distress (with a cyber flag OR where key words “online gaming”, “online
dating”, “WhatsApp”, “Tiktok”, “Instagram”, “snapchat” are used) where
the victim is under 18.

3. Child sexual exploitation (with an online/cyber flag) where the victim is
under 18.

Please provide annual figures for July 2021- july 2022, July 2022- july 2023,
July 2023- July 2024. If possible please provide the age of the youngest child
involved in the reported crimes above.

Response

I approached our Performance Review Unit for assistance with your request. An
analyst within this unit has conducted a search of our Crime Management System - Connect which records complaints or allegations of those matters, which the Home Office specify should be recorded as 'crimes'. All our systems are designed and used first and foremost for Policing Purposes and have limited search capability. They provided me with the enclosed spreadsheet in response and the following explanation regarding their search criteria:

1. Criteria Used - Incident Created Date is between 01/07/2021 and 31/07/2024, SYP & crime only filter, Person Role is equal to / is in VICTIM, Age At Incident is less than 18, HO Sub Sub Group Name is equal to / is in HARASSMENT, Online Crime Indicator is equal to / is in Y or Initial MO is LIKE (pattern match) %online gaming%, %online dating%, %WhatsApp%, %Tiktok%, %Instagram%,%snapchat%

2. Criteria Used - Incident Created Date is between 01/07/2021 and 31/07/2024,SYP & crime only filter, Person Role is equal to / is in VICTIM, Age At Incident is less than 18, Full Offence Title is equal to Attempted - Disclose private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress, Disclose private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress, Online Crime Indicator is equal to / is in Y or Initial MO is LIKE (pattern match) %online gaming%, %online dating%, %WhatsApp%, %Tiktok%, %Instagram%, %snapchat%

3. Criteria Used - Incident Created Date is between 01/07/2021 and 31/07/2024, SYP & crime only filter, Person Role is equal to / is in VICTIM, Age At Incident is less than 18, Keyword Desc is equal to Child Sexual Exploitation (non group based offending), Child Sexual Exploitation Group Based Offending, Online Crime Indicator is equal to / is in Y or Initial MO is LIKE (pattern match) %online gaming%, %online dating%, %WhatsApp%, %Tiktok%, %Instagram%, %snapchat%

Please see attached spreadsheet - FOI2024/00559. 

Please note, every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that data has been extracted from data sources used by this force for police purposes. The detail collected to respond specifically to your request is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording systems and information assets.

The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of relevance of data to your request, but you should be aware that the collation of figures/data for any requests may have limitations, and this should be taken into account when those data are used.

Police forces do not use generic systems or identical procedures for capturing the data. For these reasons this response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with responses you may receive from other police forces.