● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportMedium impact1 negative
Police routinely fail to investigate 'revenge porn' complaints, research finds
Key points
- Police fail to investigate image-based abuse complaints.
- Charging rates average 4.5% in England and Wales.
- AI innovations facilitate deepfake content creation.
- Super-complaint filed over police handling of cases.
Investigation Failures Highlighted
Research reveals that police forces in England and Wales are routinely failing to investigate complaints regarding image-based abuse, previously known as 'revenge pornography'. This has prompted a super-complaint concerning the handling of such crimes. Evidence from 100 individuals who reported non-consensual image sharing online suggests these incidents are often dismissed or not recognized as criminal offenses.
Low Charging Rates Despite Increased Reports
Referrals to the Revenge Porn helpline increased by over 4,000% between 2015 and 2025. However, data from 39 police forces shows that charges were lodged against perpetrators in an average of only 4.5% of cases last year, with some forces reporting figures below 1%. Home Office data indicates only 569 charges were issued for image-based abuse in 2025/2026, while the Revenge Porn Helpline received nearly 25,000 reports in 2025.
Inappropriate Police Responses
The research also found instances of police officers responding inappropriately to women attempting to register complaints. Examples include officers giggling on the phone, stating 'Boys will be boys,' or remarking, 'I bet you’ve learned your lesson.' Image-based abuse disproportionately affects women and girls, who constitute 98.9% of reported cases.
Impact of AI on Abuse
Lawyers from Leigh Day and the Centre for Women’s Justice, alongside the charity #NotYourPorn, are working to address these systemic police failings. They note that rapid innovations in AI are assisting abusers in creating and disseminating synthetic explicit material, also known as deepfake content, further complicating the issue.
Fragmented Policing Response
The research classifies the policing response as 'fragmented, inconsistent and incapable of meeting the scale of the threat posed by image-based abuse.' Despite increased public awareness and new criminal offenses, there has been no corresponding increase in charging rates, prosecutions, or convictions, leading to the conclusion that the majority of this offending goes unaddressed.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
The daily brief
One email each morning: the day's tech stories, clustered across outlets and summarized. No account needed.
One email a day. Unsubscribe in one click, any time.
Today's brief
Spend a few minutes, get the whole day. Every topic's top stories in one hands-free rundown — listen, watch, or read the transcript.
▶ Play today's brief
New every morning, and the back catalogue is archived by date.
Reporting from
Research indicates that police forces in England and Wales are consistently failing to investigate image-based abuse complaints, leading to a super-complaint. Despite a significant increase in reports to support helplines, charging rates for perpetrators remain low, with some officers responding inappropriately to victims. This issue is exacerbated by new AI tools enabling the creation and spread of deepfake content.