Concern At On-Line Sex Crimes Against Children

There were nearly 400 online sex crimes against children reported to Police in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire between January and March this year – an average of two a day in both counties.

Reports included obscene publications and online grooming.

The figures have been released today by the NSPCC, as it lays out six tests the Government’s regulation of social media will be judged on, if it is to achieve lasting protections for children online, through the upcoming Online Harms Bill.

Hannah Ruschen is from the charity:

The total figure for Leicestershire between January and March was 174, in Northamptonshire, there were 200 reports to Police.

The NSPCC has routinely highlighted the growing levels of abuse and harm caused to children on social media platforms, and believe the problem has been exacerbated by the fallout from coronavirus, resulting in significant online harms to children, driven by a historic failure to make platforms safe, by not putting even the most basic child protections in place.