New data compiled by the NSPCC reveals online grooming crimes have reached record levels across the South West, with offences topping 600 for the first time.
The figures provided by police forces in Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, show 640 Sexual Communication with a Child offences were recorded in 2023/24 – up 70 per cent from 2017/18 (377 offences) when the offence first came into force.
Meanwhile, the number of online grooming crimes recorded by police forces across the UK has increased by 89 per cent in six years (since 2017/18), with more than 7,000 offences recorded.
The new findings reveal that Snapchat was the most popular platform used by perpetrators to target children online last year, with the messaging app present in almost half (48 per cent) of grooming cases across the UK where the means of communication was disclosed.
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Meta platforms were also popular with offenders, featuring in over a quarter of UK recorded cases where a platform was known, with WhatsApp (12 per cent), Facebook and Messenger (10 per cent), and Instagram (6 per cent) all being used to abuse children.
Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok were all used in cross-platform grooming where the pattern of abuse points to a culture where the first point of contact between children and would-be offenders is on the open web.
This can include social media chat apps, video games and messaging apps on consoles, dating sites and chatrooms. Children are then encouraged to continue communication on private and encrypted messaging platforms where abuse can proceed undetected.
Girls are predominantly targeted by offenders for online grooming, making up 81 per cent of total UK recorded cases where gender was known in 2023/24.
The youngest victim of online grooming in 2023/24 was a five-year-old boy.
Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: “One year since the Online Safety Act became law and we are still waiting for tech companies to make their platforms safe for children.
“We need ambitious regulation by Ofcom who must significantly strengthen their current approach to make companies address how their products are being exploited by offenders."