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Online grooming offences in Wales hit record high
Wales saw a doubling to 549 online grooming offences last year; 40% involved Snapchat, with 80% of victims identified as girls, NSPCC data shows.
- In the past year, police across the UK recorded 7,263 online grooming offences, nearly double the 3,728 logged in the year to March 2018, NSPCC says.
- NSPCC research found perpetrators create multiple profiles and exploit private messaging and platform features such as 'quick add' to manipulate young users across platforms.
- Victim records indicate around 40% of cases involved Snapchat, with WhatsApp and Facebook/Instagram each accounting for 9%, and 80 children targeted were girls, including a four-year-old boy.
- The NSPCC called on tech firms, Ofcom and the government to adopt nude-image scanning, metadata analysis, and adult account limits, with Chris Sherwood warning, `Tech companies must act now to prevent further escalation.`
- The Internet Watch Foundation added that platforms already deploy protections, and they say the true scale is likely much higher due to hidden abuse, with Kerry Smith urging safety built into all services.
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15 Articles
15 Articles
Online grooming crimes have doubled since 2018, with victims as young as four, charity warns
More than 7,200 offences were recorded by police in the year to March - almost twice the number for the 12 months to March 2018, with instant messaging app Snapchat used in 40% of the cases where a tech platform was identified.
·United Kingdom
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources15
Leaning Left4Leaning Right2Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution45% Left
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources lean Left
45% Left
L 45%
C 33%
R 22%
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