Online grooming crimes in Wales more than double since offence first came into force

Online grooming crimes in Wales have more than doubled over the last six years, according to new data from the NSPCC.

The charity’s report reveals that Welsh police forces recorded 554 incidents of Sexual Communication with a Child in 2023/24, a sharp increase from 274 cases in 2017/18.

The figures, compiled from Dyfed Powys, Gwent, North Wales, and South Wales police forces, show a concerning national trend that saw a near-doubling of online grooming cases across the UK in the same period.

The NSPCC attributes much of this rise to the misuse of popular social media platforms.

Snapchat emerged as the most common platform for online grooming in the UK last year, linked to 48% of cases where the platform was disclosed.

Meta platforms were also widely used, with WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram collectively accounting for nearly a third of recorded cases.

Cross-Platform Abuse and Predatory Tactics

The new findings reveal that offenders often employ a cross-platform approach to target children. Starting with public communication on platforms such as Snapchat or TikTok, predators then move conversations to private or encrypted messaging apps where abuse can continue undetected.

Social media chat apps, video games, and even messaging functions on consoles are frequently misused in these cases, creating a digital environment that allows for swift communication and eludes oversight.

Girls remain the predominant victims of online grooming, making up 81% of UK cases where the gender of the victim was known in 2023/24.

The youngest recorded victim in Wales was a five-year-old boy, highlighting the devastating reach of these crimes across all ages.

NSPCC Calls for Proactive Safeguarding Measures

The NSPCC issued these findings a year after the passing of the Online Safety Act, a law aimed at making the internet a safer space for children. However, the charity has criticised the Act’s effectiveness, urging Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, to strengthen its rules on child protection within social media.

NSPCC Chief Executive Sir Peter Wanless argues that Ofcom must take a more ambitious approach, ensuring that tech companies take responsibility for preventing the exploitation of children on their platforms.

“A year since the Online Safety Act became law, we are still waiting for tech companies to make their platforms safe for children,” Wanless said. “Much of this abuse is taking place in private messaging, which is why we need the UK Government to strengthen the Act and give Ofcom more legal authority to tackle child sexual abuse on apps like Snapchat and WhatsApp.”

The NSPCC calls for a shift from a reactive to a preventative regulatory approach, where safeguarding features are incorporated into the design of social media platforms, rather than relying on action after harm occurs.

Police Urge Companies to Do More

The National Police Chief’s Council Lead for Child Protection and Abuse Investigations, Becky Riggs, echoed the NSPCC’s concerns, urging technology companies to fulfil their “legal and moral obligations” to keep children safe.

Ms Riggs highlighted that while law enforcement continues to investigate and prosecute offenders, tech companies must bear more responsibility for the online spaces they create.

“Policing will not stop in its fight against those who commit these horrific crimes,” Riggs stated. “But we cannot do this alone. While we pursue and prosecute those who exploit children, we repeat our call for more to be done by companies in this space.”