How can CEOP help me and my friend?

CEOP is a law enforcement agency and is here to help keep children and young people safe from sexual abuse and grooming online. We help thousands of children and young people every year who have been in a similar situation to you and your friend. CEOP are not able to respond to reports that relate to bullying, fake accounts or hacked accounts.

If someone scary or bad has happened to you online we will talk to you to find out what has happened and to help you keep safe.

If you make a report to us it will be read by one of our friendly Child Protection Advisors who will make contact with you.

We are here to help and give you advice, and you can make a report directly to us if you are worried about online sexual abuse or something has happened to your friend online which has made you or them feel unsafe, scared or worried. This might be from someone they know in real life, or someone they have only ever met online.

If you make a report to us about sexual abuse or grooming it will be read by one of our Child Protection Advisors who will get in contact with you on the phone number or email address that you give to us to make sure that your friend is safe. They will also discuss with you what will happen next. Please try not to worry, your friend has done nothing wrong and we will do all we can to help them.

We work together with lots of other professionals whose jobs are also to make sure your friend is safe, this includes other police agencies. If a crime has been committed we will work together and use our specialist skills to identify the person or people responsible and bring them into the criminal justice system.

The CEOP Education website also has information and advice to help you and your friends to stay safe online.

CEOP is not able to respond to reports about bullying but if you're worried about a friend being bullied and would like to speak to someone in confidence right now, you can call Childline on 0800 1111 or talk to them online. Please also tell an adult that you trust, this could be your parent/carer or teacher.

Who are CEOP Child Protection Advisors?

A Child Protection Advisor is someone who:

Will try to help your friend
Will be easy to talk to
Will not be shocked by what you tell them
Will be honest with you
Will not judge or blame anyone
Will make decisions with you and your friend where possible
Will talk to your friend and explain how they can help them

If your friend is in immediate danger, please call the police on 999 straight away. Please also tell an adult you trust who will be able to help you.