An inspection of how well the police and National Crime Agency tackle the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children

Published on: 5 April 2023

We inspected the police response to online child sexual abuse and exploitation between February and August 2022.

Our terms of reference addressed the following question:

  • How effective are police forces, the National Crime Agency and regional organised crime units at identifying and safeguarding children affected by online sexual abuse and exploitation?

The inspection also assessed how effectively these organisations prevented and investigated this type of crime.

We have made 17 recommendations aimed at improving the consistency of the police’s approach and the timeliness of their investigations, reducing the availability of child sexual abuse material, and getting better outcomes for children.

This report sets out our findings.

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Police response to online child sexual exploitation leaving children at risk

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