Children with easy access to pornography and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies on smartphones account for rising numbers of abuse offences against other children. They now commit just over half of these reported offences, according to new figures.
Data from 42 police forces in England and Wales show that 106,984 offences were reported in 2022, up by 7.6% on 2021 and more than five times higher than the 20,000 reported in 2013. A child aged 10 to 17 was involved as suspect or perpetrator in 52% of these cases, up from around 33% in 2013.
Officials appear fairly certain about the various drivers of this rise, but are less sure—and, in some cases, are unwilling to talk—about how to respond.
One significant factor is AI, which some school pupils use to create indecent images of their classmates. As deployed by adult perpetrators this process was investigated by The Daily Telegraph, which pointed to the use of the technology by paedophiles—in particular, “nudification” techniques which edit original photographs to make the people in them appear naked.
The European Conservative asked the Department for Education whether the new statistics might justify pausing for thought on its mission to get AI into every British classroom. The department said it would be better to talk to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which further passed the buck to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, from which a spokesperson said:
Child safety is our top priority. Our “Keeping children safe in education” guidance sets out how schools should respond to any report of child-on-child sexual violence or sexual harassment, including the circulation of indecent images, whether or not they are generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
The government will likely have more to say on the role of pornography—particularly “violent pornography.” Ian Critchley QPM, National Police Lead for Child Protection, said that the problem of children committing abuse offences “is being exacerbated by the accessibility to violent pornography … and, therefore, a perception that is normalised behaviour.”
Ministers are already considering requiring online pornography sites to use age-checking measures to prevent under-18s from gaining access, though some online rights groups say this could risk personal data being breached.
There is also the wider question of whether children as young as some of those committing the offences should have access to smartphones in the first place. One widely-discussed case saw a four year old reported to the police after uploading an indecent image of a sibling online. Critchley said:
Clearly the accessibility to smartphones has just rocketed not just in relation to 11 to 16 year olds, but in relation to under-10s as well, that accessibility has really exacerbated that and I think this is a debate that does need to be had in our society.
But this, of course, is a question for parents and carers, not for the state.
While departments avoid questions on AI in schools, they might want to issue improved advice in the light of these disturbing new patterns of offending. Likewise, it would be worth familiarising schools on how to detect signs of abuse. A recent police report on the new figures stated that “lockdowns meant there were fewer opportunities for authorities, teachers or friends” to identify these.
The European Conservative has also approached the Children’s Commissioner for comment on the measures she would propose to reduce technological factors in child abuse.
