Report Summary
This report provides members of the Policing Performance Committee with an overview of an overview of the Progress Towards HMICS Recommendations in respect of Policing Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation.
To provide members with an overview of progress made by Police Scotland in response to the Recommendations made by HMICS in its Strategic Review of Police Scotland’s Response to Online Child Sexual Abuse & Exploitation published in February 2020 and its subsequent progress review, HMICS’ Review of Online Child Sexual Abuse, published in August 2021.
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Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Policing Performance Committee - 7 December 2022
Date : 07 December 2022
Location : online
Background
Work towards the recommendations continues and the HMICS Progress Review, published in August 2021 ensured an enduring focus on this high risk business areas. In the period since the Strategic Review and the Progress Review, Police Scotland have discharged 7 recommendations, as such 4 remain outstanding. This focus 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 which poses 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 and has created new opportunities to sexually abuse and exploit children. The growing volume of OCSAE offending continues to test wider Law Enforcement’s capacity to respond.
Technological advances have served to aid both offending and detection, but the scale has led to more suspects and offences being identified, creating a huge surge in demand on criminal investigation and child protection services.
Fundamental to Police Scotland’s approach is our National Online Child Abuse Prevention (NOCAP) process and investigations, the premise of which is to prevent online child abuse by targeting those individuals suspected of having a sexual interest in children. Following the Operation PARROR Task Force in 2020/21, Police Scotland continues to use the ‘Op PARROR’ brand to depict NOCAP enforcement activity.
