England and Wales Police Face Super-Complaint Over Image-Abuse Investigation Failures
A formal super-complaint has been launched against police forces in England and Wales due to a 4.5% charge rate for non-consensual image-based abuse cases.
Lauren Collins ·
Law enforcement agencies across England and Wales are facing a formal "super-complaint" regarding systemic failures in investigating reports of non-consensual image-based abuse. Data from 39 police forces for 2025/2026 revealed charges were filed in only 4.5% of cases, with some jurisdictions reporting rates below 1%. This low charge rate persists despite a 4,000% increase in helpline referrals over the past decade for victims seeking assistance with such abuse.
Police Response Deemed "Fragmented"
Legal advocates contend that the current policing approach is fragmented and inconsistent, struggling to address the rapid rise of AI-generated synthetic explicit material. The complaint highlights instances where officers allegedly dismiss reports or place the burden of evidence collection on survivors, thereby undermining the effectiveness of existing criminal statutes.
This occurs even as referrals to the Revenge
Research supporting the complaint, which included evidence from 100 individuals, found that image-based abuse is frequently unrecognized as a criminal offense. This occurs even as referrals to the Revenge Porn Helpline surged from 2015 to 2025, reaching nearly 25,000 reports in 2025. Home Office data indicated only 569 charges were issued for image-based abuse in 2025/2026 across the country.
National Investigation Possible
It is now under the joint consideration of The "super-complaint" mechanism, introduced in 2018, allows concerns about systemic police operations to be raised. It is now under the joint consideration of the College of Policing and the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which will determine if a national investigation into these operational failures is warranted. The outcome could necessitate a comprehensive overhaul of police training, guidance, and national strategy to address the growing scale of digital abuse and restore public confidence in the justice system.
Lawyers involved in the complaint emphasize the need for urgent updates to police guidance and training, along with a clear national strategy to prevent survivors from continuing to be let down by the system.