Report Summary
This report provides members of the Policing Performance Committee with an overview of HMICS Assurance Review of Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation – Police Scotland Improvement Update.
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Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Policing Performance Committee - 12 September 2023
Date : 12 September 2023
Location : online
Background
In February 2020 HMICS published its Strategic Review of Police Scotland’s Response to Online Child Sexual Abuse & Exploitation (OCSAE) and a subsequent Progress Review in August 2021. The Strategic Review made 10 recommendations with an 11th added by the Progress Review.
Police Scotland has discharged 7 recommendations to the satisfaction of HMICS. These are summarised in Appendix 1.
4 recommendations remain outstanding. Police Scotland has continued its work towards discharging all remaining recommendations, ensuring an enduring focus on this high risk business area. This has been the catalyst for more wide ranging improvement work that continues as Police Scotland refuses to be complacent in the face of a persistent and enduring threat of significant harm to children in our communities.
The internet has enabled the production and consumption of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on an industrial scale, creating new opportunities to sexually abuse and exploit children, with the growing volume of OCSAE offending testing Law Enforcement’s capacity to respond.
Technological advances have served to aid both offending and detection, creating a huge surge in demand on criminal investigation and child protection services.
Police Scotland is committed to being at the forefront of international good practice and developments in the OCSAE arena. It is engaged with strategic partners across Scotland, the UK and beyond and is committed to robustly tackling perpetrators, partnership working and a preventative approach.
