UK police to deploy AI tools to speed up grooming gang investigations

Plan to review more than 1,200 previously closed cases that were not taken forward for prosecution

Police forces across England and Wales are set to receive powerful new AI tools to help crack down on grooming gangs and revisit hundreds of cold cases as part of an effort to deliver justice to victims of child sexual exploitation.

Backed by £426,000 in government funding, the initiative expands the Tackling Organised Exploitation (TOEX) Programme, allowing all 43 police forces in England and Wales to access a cutting-edge suite of AI-powered apps.

These tools can rapidly translate large volumes of foreign-language text from seized mobile phones and analyse vast troves of digital data to uncover patterns, relationships, and connections between suspects.

Thirteen forces already use the TOEX capabilities, with the tools having been deployed more than 12,500 times, reportedly saving over £20 million and 16,000 investigator hours.

The nationwide rollout will bolster the newly launched Operation Beaconport, a joint effort by the National Crime Agency (NCA), the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), the Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Taskforce, and the TOEX Programme.

The operation seeks to rectify past investigative failures and pursue offenders of group-based child sexual exploitation, particularly grooming gangs.

For the first time, law enforcement will review more than 1,200 previously closed CSE cases that were not taken forward for prosecution. Based on the findings, police forces may be advised to reopen improperly closed investigations, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) may be asked to revisit previous decisions not to prosecute when warranted.

Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips welcomed the development, saying: "The sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs is one of the most horrific crimes and we must punish perpetrators, provide justice for victims and survivors, and protect today's children from harm."

She added that the move directly addresses concerns raised by Baroness Casey's report, which called for urgent upgrades to police information systems to protect children more effectively.

The report, published in June, condemned law enforcement's handling of ethnicity data as a "major failing", noting that for over a decade officials avoided tracking offenders' ethnic backgrounds for fear of being labelled racist.

Baroness Casey asserted there had been enough convictions of Asian men to warrant further scrutiny. In response, police forces have now been directed by the Home Secretary to collect and report data on offenders' ethnicity and nationality.

Graeme Biggar, Director General of the National Crime Agency, said: "Following the publication of Baroness Casey's report in June, we have been working with policing partners to develop and implement a national operation… to establish a comprehensive national response to group-based CSE across England and Wales."

He stressed the importance of restoring public trust: "We must and will ensure [victims'] voices are heard and collectively, we will restore confidence that the law enforcement response to child sexual exploitation is without fear or favour, is evidence based and not undermined by fears of inflaming community tensions."

Biggar confirmed that the NCA is currently collaborating with cross-sector stakeholders to finalise the scope and delivery of Operation Beaconport, with further updates expected in the coming months.