Police to get cutting edge technology to tackle grooming gangs

Children, young people and vulnerable adults across England and Wales will be better protected from grooming gangs and other vile organised exploitation, as all police forces gain access to leading-edge investigative technology. The government is injecting £426,000 of new funding into the Tackling Organised Exploitation (TOEX) Programme so it can extend access to its Capabilities Environment, a suite of state-of-the-art investigative apps and tools, to every police force in England and Wales, building on the 13 which currently have access. 

The TOEX Capabilities Environment expansion supports the first phase of Operation Beaconport, the new national policing operation announced following Baroness Casey's National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. Police officers will be able to access the tools to assist with any criminal investigation in their force. To date, these tools have been used 12,500 times by the 13 forces which have access to them, saving over £20 million and 16,000 investigator hours. This is expected to increase exponentially with the funded expansion.

Led by the National Crime Agency in collaboration with the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), the Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Taskforce and the TOEX Programme, Operation Beaconport will, for the first time, bring together the full strength of policing to address past failures, deliver justice, and ensure complex cases of group-based child sexual exploitation – including grooming gangs – are enhanced to ensure offenders are pursued and vulnerable members of our communities are protected.

Operation Beaconport has already begun work that will lead to the review of more than 1,200 closed cases of group-based child sexual exploitation cases that were not progressed to prosecution. Following this initial review, recommendations will be made to forces to reinvestigate cases that have been improperly closed, and to the Crown Prosecution Service to review a previous charging decision when it appears to be incorrect. 

Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, said:

The sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs is one of the most horrific crimes and we must punish perpetrators, provide justice for victims and survivors, and protect today's children from harm. 

In June, this government responded to Baroness Casey's report by announcing a national inquiry to direct targeted local reviews, alongside a new national police operation – measures that will deliver real results – and we've wasted no time in making these happen.

Baroness Casey flagged the need to upgrade police information systems to improve investigations and safeguard children at risk. Today we are investing in these critical tools.

Part of the Home Office-funded CSE Taskforce, the TOEX Programme provides dedicated intelligence, analytical, and technical expertise to support forces undertaking complex investigations into organised exploitation crimes such as modern slavery, county lines, and child sexual abuse and exploitation, including grooming gangs.

The TOEX Capabilities Environment is already available in all nine regional organised crime units and is being used by 13 forces. With today's announcement of new funding, all police investigators in England and Wales will have access to the full array of TOEX's AI-enabled, time-saving tools. These include the Data Analysis and Review Tool, which analyses large amounts of digital data to identify communications patterns and relationships between suspects; and TOEX Translate, a tool for the bulk translation of foreign language text from seized mobile devices. 

Deputy Chief Constables Becky Riggs, NPCC lead for child protection and abuse investigation and Dave McLaren, NPCC lead for the national intelligence portfolio, said:

This funding gives every force access to proven tools that make a real difference in our ability to investigate complex crimes, safeguard victims, and pursue offenders more effectively.

The TOEX Programme is a powerful example of what we can achieve when we combine operational insight with innovative technology. The national rollout of these tools will improve outcomes for victims and deliver a more consistent, intelligence-led approach across the country.

The Home Secretary has also written to all police forces urging them to make sure they are fulfilling their obligation to collect suspect ethnicity data as part of the government's commitment to transparency and accountability. 

As part of the Plan for Change mission to create safer streets by increasing public confidence in policing and the criminal justice system, the government is committed to ensuring forces have the tools they need to protect communities.

Further details on the national inquiry and Operation Beaconport will be announced in the coming weeks as the government continues to prioritise protecting children, pursuing perpetrators and supporting victims and survivors.

Graeme Biggar, National Crime Agency Director General, said:

Following the publication of Baroness Casey's report in June, we have been working with policing partners to develop and implement a national operation, in response to recommendation 2 of the report – to establish a comprehensive national response to group-based CSE across England and Wales. 

Providing reassurance to victims, survivors and their families is our main focus. We must and will ensure their voices are heard and collectively, we will restore confidence that the law enforcement response to child sexual exploitation is without fear or favour, is evidence based and not undermined by fears of inflaming community tensions.

We are working closely with stakeholders from across many sectors to define the scope and delivery model of the operation and will provide further updates when we are able to.

Vicki Green, CEO, Marie Collins Foundation, said:

We welcome the Home Office's investment in technology that helps detect offenders and protect children. The use of AI tools to support faster investigations, identify victims earlier, and bring offenders to justice is a vital step forward. Technology used to safeguard children and ensure perpetrators have nowhere to hide is something we wholeheartedly applaud.

Gabrielle Shaw, Chief Executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC), said:

NAPAC welcomes this step towards a more intelligence-driven and trauma-informed policing response. As part of the CSE Taskforce, we have seen how technology can reveal complex patterns of abuse - its true value lies in how it is applied and whether it leads to meaningful action that survivors can trust. Drawing on over 27 years of insight from supporting adult survivors, NAPAC knows how important it is to recognise patterns early and respond with consistency and care. The expanded use of TOEXtools across all police forces is a positive move that could help deliver stronger outcomes for those affected by organised exploitation.