POLICE have released figures that reveal a child is groomed into taking a sexual image or video of themselves more than 20 times a week in Essex.

The statistics have been released as part of Essex Police’s child sexual exploitation campaign launched earlier this month.

The ‘I Didn’t Know’ Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Campaign launched on March 18.

The force will be working with Essex Safeguarding Children Board (ESCB) and local authorities, to inform parents, carers and children about the potential dangers of social media and the privacy settings available on social media apps to help reduce the risk of online CSE.

For each day of the campaign, information will be published on social media using the hashtag #KnowAboutCSE, to inform parents of the steps they can take to make their child’s social media secure.

Det Supt Jason Hendy, head of investigations for the crime and public protection unit, said: “In more than 60 per cent of the child sexual exploitation cases we investigate, we find the victim has been targeted through social media or online.

“This makes the need for online safety education a priority.

“We want to reach children before they start using social media, so they’re aware of how to keep themselves safe online.”

The ESCB and Essex Police campaign aims to reach out to parents and carers as research shows many are unaware of the dangers of social media, and the privacy settings available on social media apps. Additionally, children and young people aged 8-13 years old will be targeted as this is a crucial age where mobile phones and the internet are often introduced.

An NSPCC spokesperson for the East of England said: “It is far too easy for predators to target children online with devastating effects - but the war against this abuse cannot be left to the police to battle alone.

“The Government must legislate to compel social media companies to use existing technology to flag up grooming behaviour to moderators.

“It’s also vitally important that parents talk to their children about their online world.

“The NSPCC has produced a number of supportive resources such as the Net Aware app and Share Aware videos to help parents start this conversation.”

A Parent Online Safety Resource Pack is available on the ESCB website.