Child sex abuse is becoming increasingly complex to police and officers are arresting an average of 1,000 potential offenders each month, the National Crime Agency (NCA) says.
It says an increasing reliance on online platforms and advances in technology, such as AI image creation, are exacerbating the problem, with algorithms and digital communities connecting offenders to share and promote child sex abuse material.
According to the NCA, the number of arrests has roughly doubled in the past three years. Statistically, potential offenders are in every community and victims in every school, the NCA said.
It added that police cannot address the issue alone and called on technology companies to do more.
In one week in January alone, the NCA said it and police forces across the UK arrested 252 people,118 of whom were charged, and safeguarded 407 children. It added that this level of action was now taking place regularly.
