What happens when I make a report?

CEOP works hard to protect children and young people from online sexual abuse and exploitation and help keep them safe online. If a child or young person is being sexually abused or groomed online we will do everything we can to help keep them safe. Please remember that CEOP are unable to respond to reports about bullying, fake accounts or account hacking.

If you're a member of the public

If you do not know the child that you are concerned about you can still make a report to CEOP with the information that you know. Don't worry if you don't have all of the details, whatever you tell us will be useful. Please also remember it is never the child's fault and try not to blame or judge them for what has happened.

The most important thing to remember is that if you make a report to us we will do everything we can to make sure the child concerned is safe. 

What will CEOP do with your report?

• Your report will be read by a Child Protection Advisor at CEOP, who will immediately start planning how we will help the child. Our Child Protection team are specialist workers who have helped thousands of children and they will understand the situation.
• If your report relates to a child being sexually abused or groomed, we will contact you as quickly as we can. When we contact you we will talk about what has happened and we will make a plan together about what to do next.
• Our job is to make the child as safe as possible, so we may need to ask other professionals to help protect them. This might include sharing what you have told us with other professionals, including local statutory services.

If you're a professional working with children

If you are a professional working with children and young people, you should not use the CEOP Safety Centre reporting tool. This service is designed for children who are experiencing online child sexual abuse, or their parent / carer.

Professionals should follow local safeguarding policies and procedures, which may include reporting concerns to children’s social care or the police.

If a child is in immediate danger, please call the police on 999.

The CEOP Education programme offers resources, training and information for professionals to help keep children safe online and protect them from sexual abuse and exploitation.