Intimate image abuse

Request Number: FOI/16623

Category: Incident and Crime Statistics - Sexual Offences

Subject: Intimate image abuse

Request and Answer: 
Your request for information has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act, we can confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland does hold the information you have requested to which your request relates. The decision has been taken to disclose the following.

Request 1
The total number of cases of intimate image abuse / revenge porn received by the police force between 31 June 2025 to 1 January 2026. 

Request 2
The total number of these cases within this timeframe that were closed with no further action by the police force.

Request 3
The number of cases within this timeframe that were closed without further action due to evidential difficulties

Request 4
The number of cases within this timeframe that were closed without further action because they were not deemed to be in the public interest. 

Answers
In response to the requests, please see below the following table which is based on all ‘recorded disclosing/threatening to disclose private sexual photographs and film with intent to cause distress offences’, during the period 1 July – 30 November 2025.  

Please Note:  

• Figures for offences recorded from 1st April 2025 are subject to ongoing validation and quality assurance processes until publication in May 2026; annual revisions to previously published financial year figures may also be applied at this time.
• The currently assigned outcome may be updated as investigations are completed or new information comes to light. 

PSNI can advise that ‘the public interest test’ is a prosecutorial decision and not a police decision, of which the outcome would be ‘No prosecution directed’.  

Please note that ‘none ‘of the recorded offences during this period have been assigned an outcome of ‘No prosecution directed’.