Thames Valley Police child abuse figures released

Thames Valley Police received six reports of sex crimes against children a day on average last year.

More than 2,400 child sex offences were recorded by the force in 2016/17.

Figures released by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) this morning also showed about a third of these were against children under the age of 10.

The overall number of crimes reported to the force, which include allegations of rape, sexual assault and grooming, was 2,440.

Julie Hilton, the NSPCC’s schools service manager for the East of England, said: “These figures are extremely concerning and show just how extensive child sexual abuse is.

“That’s why we must empower children to recognise abuse and know how to report it from an early age so they can get help and support.”

Nationally, police received 64,667 reports of child sex offences in 2016/17, an increase of 15 per cent on the year before.

However, figures for TVP remained roughly the same.

The NSPCS’s ‘Speak Out. Stay Safe’ campaign to encourage children to report abuse reached more than 64,000 in the Thames Valley in the last academic year, including almost 20,000 in Berkshire.