His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has found that police forces are failing to properly investigate online child sexual abuse, with demand significantly outstripping resources. The report highlights a 66 per cent surge in online child sex abuse referrals between 2023 and 2024, alongside a 48 per cent increase in registered sex offenders over the past decade.
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Michelle Skeer, stated that forces are “falling short of what the public expects”. She said: “The officers and staff working in these teams show tremendous dedication in extremely difficult conditions. But dedication alone is not enough. Demand is rising at a rate that forces cannot keep pace with using current resources.” The inspectorate concluded that individual forces cannot resolve the problems alone.
The report recommends that the College of Policing create a national investigators’ course for online child sexual abuse and roll out a bespoke digital training course for managing offenders. It also advises forces to review staffing levels to ensure manageable workloads, conduct unannounced home visits for registered sex offenders, and consider arrest and bail for all online child sexual abuse suspects.
Policing minister Sarah Jones told the Commons that there are 12,000 officers “sitting behind desks” and that the government is investing in artificial intelligence and new technology to redeploy them into communities. The Labour government has vowed to put thousands more officers into neighbourhoods.
The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Claire Waxman, said the report highlighted that delays, gaps in supervision, and weak information-sharing were putting children at risk. She warned that “every delay or missed intervention has real-world consequences” and supported proposed reforms, including plans for a National Police Service.
A Home Office spokesperson said charges and prosecutions for child sexual abuse are at their highest ever levels and that the government will soon strengthen the law in the Crime and Policing Bill with new offences targeting tech-assisted child sexual abuse and improving offender management.
