If someone is in immediate danger or a crime is happening now, call 999.
Call 999Tell us what has happened and we'll help you find the right official person to contact.
Six short questions. Plain English. No account, no sign-in, and nothing is saved unless you ask us to.
- 1. Immediate danger
- 2. What has happened
- 3. Who is affected
- 4. Online or offline
- 5. Where you are
- 6. Who you want
Tap this at any point — your answers are kept.
How to contact them if you cannot call
Every step below can be done in writing, on a phone or a laptop, without speaking to anyone. It usually takes about ten minutes.
Open the official online report form1. Open the official reporting page
Use the button below to open the reporting form for your local police force in a new tab. Check the web address starts with https and ends in police.uk or gov.uk before you type anything.
2. Choose 'report a crime or incident'
Pick the option closest to what happened. If nothing fits, choose 'something else' — the force will read it and route it. Online reports are read by real officers, not a bot.
3. Copy your prepared notes in
Use 'Copy notes' further down this page, then paste them into the free-text box. Say first if anyone is at risk right now, then what happened, when, and who was involved.
4. Attach or describe your evidence
Upload screenshots if the form allows it. Include usernames, profile links and the platform name exactly as they appear. Do not message or confront the account yourself.
5. Give contact details you can safely use
Say how and when it is safe to reply — for example 'email only' or 'do not phone in the evening'. You can ask for updates by email if speaking is not safe.
6. Save the reference number
You will get a reference number on screen or by email. Write it down — you need it for any follow-up, and children's services will ask for it too.
Other ways to report without speaking
- Report online to the police (101 online)Non-emergency crime and incident reporting, any time.
- CEOP — report a concern about a child onlineFor grooming, sexual chat or images involving a child.
- Find your council's safeguarding teamGOV.UK finder for children's social care.
- Report Harmful ContentHelp getting bullying, threats or images taken down.
If you are Deaf, hard of hearing or speech-impaired: text 999 from a phone registered with emergencySMS, use Relay UK by dialling 18000, or use the police BSL video service. In an emergency where you cannot speak, call 999 and press 55.
Prepare for the conversation
Officers and safeguarding leads ask the same things every time. Writing them down first makes the call shorter and calmer.
In your own words, in order.
Dates and times, even approximate.
Ages, and how they know each other.
Say so first when you call.
Copy them exactly. Do not message the account.
Screenshots of text, where they are stored.
If you have reported before.
Nothing is saved until you tick the box and press Save.
Please do not
- Investigate a suspect yourself, or set up a decoy account.
- Confront the person, online or in person — it destroys evidence and can raise the risk to the child.
- Download, save or share indecent images of a child. Possessing them is a crime, even to prove something.
- Forward harmful content on to friends or groups to warn them.
Preserving evidence safely
- Do not delete the conversation, the account or the app — the police may need the original.
- Screenshot text, usernames, profile links and timestamps. Note the date you took each one.
- Never screenshot or copy a sexual image of a child. Tell the police it exists and where — that is enough.
- Keep the device charged and, if asked, stop using it so nothing is overwritten.
- Write down what you did and when — a simple timeline helps enormously.
How this page treats your information
- Your postcode, answers and notes are not stored unless you tick the consent box.
- Anything you do save is encrypted with a key that never leaves this browser.
- Reports and incident details are never used for advertising or analytics.
- Delete everything at any time with the Delete now button, or from the Consent hub.
- The postcode lookup uses the public Office for National Statistics postcode service to name your police force and council. No incident details are sent with it.
Where these details come from
Every organisation, number and link on this page is published on an official police, government, NHS, CEOP or recognised safeguarding website. We never publish an individual officer's name, personal number, email address or social media profile. Each card shows the date a human last verified it, and safeguarding staff re-check the whole directory on a schedule.