Online child abuse referrals 'almost quadruple'

The number of referrals being made about online child abuse in Cheshire has nearly quadrupled in the past few years, the county's police force has said.

Cheshire Police has said referrals have risen from more than 180 in 2023 to nearly 800 in 2025.

Chief Constable Mark Roberts said the number of reports being made had "gone through the roof". He said: "The volume of demand we've got has nearly quadrupled."

Roberts revealed the figures at a police and crime panel meeting on Friday, which was called to discuss his decision to axe 50 Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) posts across the county.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that the meeting followed his decision to make up to 70% of the 87 PCSOs redundant rather than other employees.

Proposals for 60 redundancies were confirmed in December as part of plans to save £13m.

However, after facing criticism over the decision Cheshire Police said on Friday that 10 of those roles would now remain.

Roberts evidenced rising online child abuse referrals to highlight the increased need for digital investigations staff over PCSOs.

He said: "The only way, unless we get an increased financial envelope, I can balance the budget is to make people redundant.

"And I have the difficult task of working out where can I take staff out of the organisation and give the best possible service to the public in Cheshire."

Roberts said when he was appointed as chief constable in 2021 there was considerable concern about investigations into online child abuse and a year's backlog of examination of computers and phones.

"There were 120 online abuse of children investigations not being progressed because there weren't the staff to investigate the digital media aspects of that investigation," Roberts said.

"We have made significant investments in that area - we no longer have a backlog."

Police staff and warranted officers are necessary within these digital investigations, he said - adding that to reduce staffing in this area would cause the return of the backlog.

"I could reduce the staffing in the online investigation digital media," he said. "The impact of that is we have a backlog in computer investigations."

The chief constable said another alternative to cutting PCSO roles would be to reduce staff in the control room - but asked whether the public would accept an increase in waiting when dialling 999.

"If the performance of the call centre drops, people literally can die," said the chief constable.

Cheshire Police has said if PCSO roles are axed, warranted officers would be redeployed into local policing teams.

But campaigners argue the importance of PCSOs to local communities cannot be understated, particularly when it comes to local knowledge and the trust built up over the years.

Police and crime commissioner Dan Price is currently holding a public consultation on the police budget and said if residents agreed to pay an extra £2.14 a month on the precept [the police part of the council tax] on a band B, then all 87 PCSO roles could be saved.

The government would also have to agree to the budget flexibility regarding the precept.

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