Police forces in England and Wales recorded 717 reports of group-based child sexual offences in 2023, averaging nearly two incidents a day, according to figures shared by the Hydrant Programme, a national police scheme dedicated to analysing such crimes. This data sheds light on the ongoing issue of grooming gangs and their role in child sexual abuse across the UK.
From January to September 2023, police also logged 572 cases of child sexual grooming. These offences, which involve two or more individuals working together, exclude institutional abuse in schools, churches, or children’s homes, as well as abuse committed within families. This narrow focus aims to identify and address crimes specifically perpetrated by grooming gangs.
The Hydrant Programme also provided data on the ethnicity of alleged offenders, obtained when suspects self-reported their ethnic background upon arrest. In 2023, 70% of grooming gang suspects were white (224 individuals), while 6.9% were Pakistani (22 individuals). By the first nine months of 2024, white suspects comprised 63% (144 individuals) and Pakistani suspects 13.7% (31 individuals).
Richard Fewkes, director of the Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce and the Hydrant Programme, clarified that these numbers are incomplete, as ethnicity data was available for only 34% of suspects in 2023 and 39% in the first three quarters of 2024. Despite these limitations, Fewkes noted that the data reflects expected national demographic trends and does not point to any single ethnicity as disproportionately responsible for these crimes.
“There’s never been prevalent studies around group-based offending in the UK that go into the depth that gives us that measurement,” Fewkes stated. “This is the best picture we’ve got.”
Grooming gang crimes gained national attention following a 2011 Times investigation exposing the sexual abuse of vulnerable girls by organised groups of men in northern England. Subsequent reports detailed the reluctance of authorities in towns like Rotherham to act decisively, prompting a public inquiry into the failures of child protection services.
The scandal uncovered systemic issues, including failures to address complaints due to fears of being perceived as racially insensitive, as many offenders were of Pakistani heritage. This revelation led to intense public scrutiny, political debates, and calls for reforms in how grooming crimes are investigated and prosecuted.
Assistant Chief Constable Rebecca Riggs of Staffordshire, who leads child protection efforts for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, emphasised that police investigations focus on evidence rather than race, ethnicity, or gender. She warned against sensationalist reporting, which may deter victims from coming forward.
“We must not forget that victims are at the heart of all of this. Every headline and every statistic represents a person who has been subjected to abhorrent abuse, and we mustn’t lose sight of that,” Riggs said.
She added that unbalanced political commentary could distort public perception. Recent statements from figures like Elon Musk and Nigel Farage have reignited debates about grooming gangs, with Farage calling for an inquiry into “to what extent were gangs of Pakistani men raping young white girls.”
