Child sex abuse image crimes up 11% in a year in Scotland, says NSPCC

The number of child sex abuse image crimes logged by Police Scotland has risen by 11%, prompting renewed calls for tech companies to block nude images from being taken and shared on children’s devices.

Young people continue to face exposure to the risk of grooming, extortion, online abuse and having intimate images shared, the NSPCC said.

The charity reveals child sexual abuse image crimes logged by Police Scotland reached record levels last year, with more than 828 offences in 2024/25 – 11% higher than the previous year.

Data revealed that between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, there were 36,829 recorded offences of indecent and prohibited images of children across the UK.

Across the 42 forces that provided data for both years, the number of offences increased by 9%.

The UK Government’s strategy, published in December, to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), stated an aim to “make it impossible for children in the UK to take, share or view a nude image” and said it was “working constructively with companies to make this a reality”.

But the NSPCC said this must be made mandatory, with the Government urged to take action against tech companies if they fail to embed existing technology on children’s phones that blocks nude images from being created, shared or viewed.

The charity said these “device‑level protections” should be embedded by default, meaning children are automatically protected, and adult users could go through a process to opt out.

Such technology can block a nude image taken, sent or received on a device, and the NSPCC said that because the image is never created or sent in the first place, there is nothing to encrypt and that this method can stop abuse at the source.

The NSPCC said that of the 10,811 crimes where police forces recorded the platform used by perpetrators, 43% or a total of 4,615, took place on Snapchat.

Overall, Meta platforms still accounted for almost a quarter of all offences (24%), with 8% on Instagram, 7% on WhatsApp, 5% on Facebook and 4% on Messenger, the charity said.

But the NSPCC said that because of end-to-end encryption, the true scale of abuse children are experiencing online remains “hidden”.

Chris Sherwood, CEO at the NSPCC, said: “Children across the UK are being completely failed by tech companies that should be protecting them online. We cannot keep letting them off the hook when they can do more to prevent this from happening in the first place.

“Behind every one of these offences is a child who has been groomed, abused and manipulated. They are left to carry the trauma, whilst tech companies continue to profit handsomely.

“Technology already exists that could be deployed today to stop children from taking, sharing or receiving nude images. So, the real question is: what’s stopping them? If they continue to drag their feet, the government must show their might by stepping in and compelling them to act”.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Child protection is a priority for Police Scotland and we will thoroughly investigate child abuse in all its forms, including online offending.

“Police Scotland will always respond when information is received that a child or young person may be at risk of harm, with a focus on identifying and mitigating any risk posed.

“We want to reassure communities that Police Scotland is fully committed to the investigation of child abuse, using our resources locally and nationally to protect Scotland’s children. If you suspect someone may be abusing children online or offline, then please contact the Police on 999 if you think there is an immediate risk of harm, or 101.”

Young people looking for support on any of the issues mentioned can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or visit Childline.org.uk. Childline is available to all young people until their 19th birthday.