September 28, 2022 | Serious and Organised Crime
Reference: FOI - 2022 - 00189
Request
Request
I am writing to request information regarding cases of the online grooming, or sexual exploitation, of children on video-sharing platforms (VSPs) that have been reported to your police force between 1 January 2017 and 24 January 2022. Examples of VSP include, but are not limited to: Twitch; TikTok; Facebook Watch, and IGTV. Please provide me with the following:
Request 1
By calendar year (or by year and month if possible) the number of all reports to the police force of child grooming/exploitation, broken down by VSP. If possible, please also break this down by age and gender;
Request 2
By calendar year (or by year and month if possible) the outcome of all reports to the police force of child grooming/exploitation, broken down by VSP. For example, the outcome could be: referred to NCA/CEOP; report closed (e.g. insufficient evidence); arrest made etc. If possible, please also break this down by age and gender.