Police say extra funds to hunt grooming gangs in England and Wales will ‘likely fall short’
Summary
The UK government has announced a large increase in funding to police forces working to investigate and prevent child sexual abuse by grooming gangs. Despite this, police say the funds may not be enough due to the complexity and scale of the work needed. New technology, including AI tools, will also be provided to help detect and catch online abusers more quickly.Key Facts
- Funding for Operation Beaconport, a review of past grooming gang cases, increased from £4 million to nearly £38 million.
- Police forces will get £9 million to buy AI technology to help detect online child abusers faster.
- Overall, £100 million is allocated to combat child sexual abuse in England and Wales.
- Police warn the extra money might not cover the full cost of the work needed to tackle group-based child exploitation.
- A new inquiry with a £65 million budget will investigate the role of ethnicity, culture, or religion in grooming gang offenses and institutional responses.
- The Undercover Online Network, funded with £11.7 million, targets predators on the dark web and helped protect 1,748 children and made 1,797 arrests between 2024 and 2025.
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood emphasized a strong commitment to prosecuting offenders and protecting vulnerable children.
- The National Crime Agency welcomes the funding and will use advanced capabilities to continue protecting children from abuse.
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