Online Abuse

Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FIN/24/002523/Y

 Version Date: 19/11/2024

The Performance Analysis Department have provided the following information.

Searches were completed using the ADR 118 Cyber Crime query to extract all occurrences flagged as cyber crime within the timeframe. To filter further for online abuse, the results were filtered for the following SC Descriptions:

• Acts intended to stir up racial hatred (S18/23 POA 1986)
• Adult meet a girl under 16 years of age following grooming (recordable)
• Arrange / facilitate commission of offence of cause / incite child under 13 to engage in sexual activity - penetration. Sexual Offences Act 2003 Sec 8 and 14.
• Arrange / facilitate sexual activity with a child / incite a child to engage - penetration. Sexual Offences Act 2003 Sec 9, 10 and 14
• Arrange / facilitate the commission of a child sex offence - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Arrange / facilitate the rape / assault by penetration of a child under 13. Sexual Offences Act 2003 Sec 5, 6, 14.
• Blackmail (recordable)
• Bomb hoax offences
• Cause / incite a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity - no penetration - offender under 18 (recordable)
• Cause / incite a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity - offender 18 or over - penetration (recordable)
• Cause / incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity - no penetration (recordable)
• Cause / incite the sexual exploitation of a child aged 13 - 17 - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Cause / incite the sexual exploitation of a child under 13 - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Cause to be sent by public communication network a false message to cause annoyance / inconvenience / anxiety (recordable)
• Causing a child under 16 to watch a sexual act (S12/13, SOA 2003)
• Causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress (S4A POA)
• Common assault (S39) and assault without injury (Class 105A)
• Disclose private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress (recordable)
• Engage in controlling / coercive behaviour in an intimate / family relationship (recordable)
• Engage in sexual communication with a child (recordable)
• Fear or provocation of violence (S4 POA)
• Harassment - breach of civil injunction (recordable)
• Harassment - breach of restraining order
• Harassment - put in fear of violence (recordable)
• Harassment of a person in his home, (recordable)
• Harassment without violence (recordable)
• Harassment, alarm or distress (S5 POA)
• Have an obscene article for publication for gain (recordable)
• Offender 18 or over cause / incite a boy 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity - no penetration - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Offender 18 or over cause / incite a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity - no penetration - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Offender of any age cause / incite a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity - no penetration - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Offender of any age cause / incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity - penetration (recordable)
• Offender under 18 cause / incite a boy 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity - no penetration - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Offender under 18 cause / incite a boy 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity- penetration - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Offender under 18 cause / incite a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity - no penetration - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Offender under 18 cause / incite a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity - penetration - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Offender under 18 cause / incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity - no penetration - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Offender under 18 cause / incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity - penetration - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Offender under 18 cause a child 13 to 15 to watch a sexual act - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Offender under 18 cause a child under 13 to watch a sexual act - SOA 2003 (recordable)
• Operate equipment beneath clothing of another without consent (recordable)
• Racially / religiously aggravated stalking involving fear of violence (recordable)
• Racially / religiously aggravated stalking involving serious alarm / distress (recordable)
• Racially or religiously aggravated intentional harassment - non violence (Sec 2, Harassment Act)
• Send communication / article of an indecent / offensive nature (recordable)
• Send communication threatening death or serious harm - s181 Online Safety Act 2023
• Send false communication with intent to cause harm - s179 Online Safety Act 2023
• Send photograph or film of genitals - s187 Online Safety Act 2023 / s66A SOA 2003
• Send/threaten to share photograph or film of a person in an intimate state intending to cause alarm, distress, humiliation or for the purposes of sexual gratification - SOA 2003 s66B
• Sending letters etc with intent to cause distress or anxiety - Malicious Communications Act 1988 s1
• Share/threaten to share photograph or film of person in an intimate state without consent - SOA 2003 s66B (1) & (9)
• Stalking involving fear of violence (recordable)
• Stalking involving serious alarm / distress (recordable)
• Stalking without fear / alarm / distress (recordable)
• Take / make / distribute indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children
• Threat to damage / destroy property (recordable)
• Threaten a witness / juror (recordable)
• Threats to kill (recordable)

Incidents of ‘sexting’ between young people are recorded as crimes as they involve the sharing of sexual images of children. Many of these incidents involve young people sharing images with consent between each other and whilst they are recorded as criminal offences, the matters can be resolved via education and safeguarding intervention – following a robust risk assessment to ensure the resolution is appropriate.

I would like to know how many individuals were reported for a case of online abuse in the years 2022,2023 and 2024 individually where the offence was committed by an individual under the age of 18 and those 18 and over. I would like this age breakdown provided separately.

I would also like to know the outcomes of the report - how many were charged - for both those offenders under the age of 18 and those 18 and over.

2022

• Under 18’s – 5 charged.
• 18 and over – 74 charged.

2023

• Under 18’s – 0 charged.
• 18 and over – 65 charged.

2024

• Under 18’s – 1 charged.
• 18 and over – 13 charged.

Online abuse defined as: death threats, cyberbullying, threats, sexual harassment, cyberstalking, emotional abuse, unsolicited sexual imagery and enticing violence or harm through online speech and comments.