Number of child sex offences in Leicestershire has rocketed by almost 200 per cent in the last five years

The number of child sex offences in Leicestershire has rocketed by almost 200 per cent in the last five years.

Leicestershire Police recorded 1,238 child sex offences last year, new figures from the NSPCC show.

That’s a shocking increase of 179 per cent on the 444 crimes recorded by the force in 2014/15.

And it’s more than triple the national increase seen over the same period.

Across the UK a total of 73,518 offences, including rape, online grooming and sexual assault against children, were recorded in 2019/20.

That’s up 57 per cent since 2014/15.

It means that over 200 offences against children were carried out every single day last year throughout the UK on average.

Det Ch Insp Gavin Drummond, Leicestershire Police’s child exploitation and safeguarding lead, told the Harborough Mail: “We have seen an increase in the reporting of sexual offences against children and we believe this is due to an increased confidence in victims coming forward and reporting such matters to police.

“We take all reports extremely seriously and have specialist officers who can offer support and guidance to victims.

“We work closely with partner organisations within our multi-agency safeguarding hub to ensure victims have access to the most appropriate support services available.

“Working alongside such partner agencies is key to identifying, assessing and tackling sexual offences where children are involved.”

The senior detective said that Leicestershire Police were helping to spearhead efforts to combat online grooming.

“As a force, we have been at the forefront in raising awareness of the dangers of online grooming. “Leicestershire Police has played an active role in the production of two films – Kayleigh’s Love Story and Breck’s Last Game – which have been rolled out to children and young people in both the UK and beyond.

“Both films were produced to help both parents and children in spotting the signs of online grooming,” said Det Ch Insp Drummond.

The NSPCC said the stunning spike in child sex abuse shows the “need for national leadership in response” as it urged the Home Office to publish and implement its Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy.

The strategy was announced by then Home Secretary Sajid Javid at the NSPCC’s ‘How Safe are our Children’ conference in June last year.

In May the Home Office said it “will shortly publish the first of its kind cross-government Child Sexual Abuse Strategy to improve the UK’s response to tackling this abhorrent crime”.

“The strategy has yet to be published.

“The NSPCC is calling for the needs of children and young people to be at the centre of how authorities respond to child sexual abuse, with a focus on effective prevention and victims having access to timely and specialist support,” said the charity.

NSPCC Chief Executive Peter Wanless said: “The crisis of child sexual abuse is not going away.

“Behind these figures are thousands of children and young people who have reported crimes that can have a devastating impact on their lives.

“Urgent action is needed to prevent abuse and to ensure children are supported to recover when they bravely speak out.”

He insisted: “We need concerted leadership from governments across the UK to implement strategies on tackling child sexual abuse that put the experiences and needs of children at their heart and are effective in preventing abuse and helping young people recover.”

Mr Wanless spoke out as an NSPCC report found contacts from young people to Childline about sexual abuse in the family tripled during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The new report, ‘The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on child welfare: sexual abuse’, shows there were an average of 23 contacts to Childline per week about child sex abuse in the home.

That had soared threefold since Monday March 23rd when the lockdown was imposed.

Some children told Childline that sexual abuse had become more frequent as they were spending more time with their abuser.

If you are worried about a child please call the NSPCC Helpline for advice on 0808 800 5000.

Adult victims of non-recent sexual abuse can also get in touch for support.

Childline is available for young people on 0800 1111 or at www.childline.org.uk