15th E-Magazine Published
We have now published the 15th edition of our online e-magazine, which can be viewed by clicking the link below.
The e-magazine is published on a quarterly basis and provides key partners and stakeholders with an update on the programme as well as includes feature pieces on some of the fantastic national and regional collaborative work being undertaken in the fight against organised exploitation.
This edition includes a spotlight on the brilliant work of our London team, real case studies showing impact on the ground, as well as news of an award win for the TOEX network.
We hope you enjoy reading this edition and share with others.
Click here to read the e-magazine.
Strategic Update
As I reflect on TOEX progress in 2025, I continue to be impressed by the commitment and innovation across the programme and the crucial support of our key partners.
Our ops teams have added their capabilities to tackling the epidemic of ‘Com Group’ activity online. These are individuals who take part in and promote radically extreme behaviours online, leading to violence, sexual abuse, self-harm and on occasion the death of vulnerable victims, often children. TOEX are working with forces and specialist regional capabilities to identify and disrupt the group activity and support the arrest and conviction of those perpetrating horrific and harmful abuse.
In October, Greater Manchester Police secured the UK’s first conviction for encouraging or assisting serious self-harm, under the Online Safety Act 2023. Karl Davies was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for 17 sexual and violence offences against a young child. The NWROCU TOEX team provided detailed evidence showing how Davies set up his numerous online accounts, purporting to be six different males, and evidenced his contact with the child. This detailed work proved pivotal to his guilty pleas and sentencing.
The recently published Angiolini Inquiry Part 2: Prevention of sexually motivated crimes against women in public, highlights the importance of identifying and managing offenders responsible for the most harmful violence and TOEX is committed to supporting the most serious VAWG investigations and refining data solutions capable of revealing high-harm perpetrators.
Colleagues are working hard on the intelligence and analytics development of group-based CSE investigations, helping forces to understand and respond effectively to the threat, and building data solutions on behalf of national policing to deliver the recommendations set out by Baroness Casey in June. Significant public and media attention is focused on investigations that have been discontinued for a multitude of reasons in the past and TOEX technical expertise is now being brought to bear as part of collaborative improvement action across law enforcement. Further updates will follow as this work progresses in 2026.
This focus has generated additional Home Office funding to offer the TOEX Capabilities Environment and hosted Apps free to all forces in England and Wales. All regional teams, plus 33 forces are currently using the platform, with more being onboarded in the coming weeks. Saving opportunities will soon pass £40 million, with very encouraging user feedback continuing. Special thanks to Comms Lead, Natalie Reed, and Performance Analyst, Sophie Cofie-Agyeman, for the extensive engagement plan, and evidence to support the value added by this investment.
Finally, I send my very best wishes to you all, in the hope that you enjoy precious time with family and friends over the festive season. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and I look forward to a demanding and exciting 2026 together!
Detective Chief Superintendent, Kate Thacker KPM, - TOEX Programme Director
TOEX Spotlight: London
Building the Team
The London team was one of the last teams to join the TOEX family in March 2023 and reached full strength in January 2024 with the appointment of Julie as Exploitation Lead (Detective Inspector), supported by Chris (Lead Analyst) and Paul (Intelligence Manager).
Julie, new to both intelligence development and promotion, reflected on her early experience:
“The team’s passion for delivering high-quality products was clear from day one. Personally, I had a lot to learn and strove to build a culture across the team whereby everyone difference experience were captured and grown to achieve the best results collectively. We shared best practice and worked through structural challenges while promoting TOEX to the Met Police, City of London Police, and British Transport Police.”
Julie added “I feel so proud and passionate about TOEX and my role. Every day is different, challenging and rewarding. I am so grateful of the development opportunities that TOEX affords me, and I feel immensely pleased with the operational delivery that we are developing across London to make a real difference to victims of organised exploitation.”
Paul also explained his role: “I manage jobs, set objectives, triage new intelligence, and ensure operational readiness. I submit operations to APMIS, record disruptions, and act as a link between operational teams and TOEX staff.”
Operational Impact
Most London TOEX work originates from the Metropolitan Police, but the team has supported BTP on County Lines investigations and assisted City of London Police with an organised crime group (OCG) linked to forced prostitution. Their remit spans safeguarding, intelligence development, and operational support across diverse crime types, including group-based CSE, MSHT, organised immigration crime, murder, high-risk missing persons and organ harvesting.
Team Development
Adaptability and growth define the team’s culture. James, who joined as a researcher in his first policing role, quickly excelled. Paired with John, an experienced officer and IDO, they developed intelligence on a social media group linked to modern slavery and forced prostitution. Their work identified an OCG operating multiple brothels in London. James undertook research, analysis, IPA applications, and network charting, while gaining operational experience through recce visits and deployments. Their outputs earned praise from senior officers and enabled a smooth transition to proactive teams. We like to call James & John our very own Starsky & Hutch!
Looking Ahead
Now integrated into the Met Police SIU, London TOEX is leveraging new opportunities and strengthening partnerships with national agencies such as GAIN and NCA international teams. This evolution reflects the team’s versatility and commitment to tackling complex criminality.
Operation Ampero
Operation Ampero is an Avon and Somerset Police case investigating suspected child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE). The case began in Northamptonshire in December 2024, when a male sent sexual messages to a 13-year-old and travelled from Somerset to meet her. Although initially charged with rape, the case was discontinued.
In June 2025, the victim reported renewed contact. She also disclosed that another man had asked her for indecent images, and device examination revealed a group chat containing sexualised content. The individuals were arrested, but each denied involvement and refused access to their devices, prompting the need for specialist assistance.
The TOEX Response
TOEX quickly established a clear Terms of Reference with the investigation team, focusing on digital attribution, network identification and potential victim discovery.
Key outcomes of TOEX activity included:
- Call data analysis confirming that the first male had communicated with the victim after original arrest, contradicting his interview account.
- Telecoms enquiries showing further suspects had significant contact with the victim.
- Intelligence development on other individuals posing a risk to children.
- Identification of three further child victims and one vulnerable adult, all of whom received safeguarding interventions.
In addition, a separate enquiry in October 2025 focused on an unidentified girl seen in a screenshot from one of the male’s devices. TOEX conducted extensive open-source intelligence (OSINT) work and collaborated with partner agencies to confirm her identity. She was safeguarded, and the findings supported charges for indecent image offences being added to the case.
As a result of this work, the first man pleaded guilty to 14 offences, including sexual communication with children and indecent image charges, and is awaiting sentencing. Although initially thought to be a group-based CSAE network, analysis revealed that the further suspects were themselves vulnerable and influenced by the male, therefore, no charges have been brought against them to date.
Operation Ampero demonstrates how complex CSAE investigations rely on multi-agency collaboration, advanced digital analysis, and proactive safeguarding. TOEX’s involvement was crucial to a challenging investigation—uncovering additional victims, identifying wider risks and securing significant guilty pleas. The case reinforces the importance of specialist capabilities in protecting vulnerable children and disrupting offenders operating across digital and geographical boundaries.
Day in the Life – Kate Thacker
This feature piece has been written by TOEX Director, Det Chief Superintendent Kate Thacker, following questions posed by the TOEX network. It will be a regular article in the e-magazine exploring the range of roles TOEX staff do across the network.
Tell us about what you do on a typical day.
As TOEX Director I have a national scope, which means my work is a little more predictable than the operational policing roles I have enjoyed over the last 30 years. Much of the work is done online, whether working from home or in the office with the national team, but it also involves regular travel across the UK to meet partners from policing, wider criminal justice, and key stakeholders.
My workload across the day means wearing several different ‘hats’ and ensures that I am kept both busy and challenged. I attend numerous national thematic threat groups; present at CPD events/conferences; contribute to NPCC strategic planning for public protection, SOC and serious crime threats; advise on technical platforms and enablers for policing investigators; secure and manage our £12m annual budget and hold the TOEX operational and technical workstreams to account.
What challenges does your role encounter?
Whilst TOEX has successfully grown into a national network, ensuring effective service delivery across the eleven teams, when they are all tasked and line managed by different organisations, can be tricky.
Our technical programme has delivered unprecedented success in the last three years, yet despite extensive and independently validated evidence of cost and time savings as well as improved efficiencies to the frontline, offering the services beyond TOEX has required significant determination and resilience.
All forces have a need to innovate, but there is no singular path for technical programmes to receive governance, funding, or approval. This means that the data and digital landscape is both busy and sometimes confusing. The unwavering support of our Home Office TCSAU sponsors has meant we have been able to deliver timely, agile, and effective tech into the hands of frontline investigators, for a fraction of the cost similar initiatives.
The secret to this success lies in effective collaborations with industry and key law enforcement contacts, agile and flexible approaches to problems and the drive for real-world operational delivery.
What’s one thing you do that the rest of the team don’t know about?
I have 10-year-old twins at home and my office desk is covered in their ‘gifts’ to me - fidget toys, Lego creations and home-made ‘objet d’art’!
It looks like a very colourful bomb site, so whilst I am thankful these tokens are beyond the view of the Teams webcam, they are also a sentimental reminder of the stages of their childhoods and have proved calming on stressful days.
What do you do for your own wellbeing?
Time with friends and family is a recharge for me, but we must all make sure we never feel guilty for carving off a little quiet time too.
Away from work, I enjoy time with my wife and our twins, who ensure life is busy, loud and full of new experiences. I particularly enjoy fishing with our son, as we learned together after Covid lockdown and, yes, he’s already a better angler than I am.
What advice would you give to your younger self when you first started in policing?
“Ask for help when you need it – there is a great professional and personal support network within policing.”
Policing is a very demanding and absorbing occupation, and we all get used to long hours, challenging workloads and difficult subject matter. Whilst some of these strains are of the moment, others have a cumulative effect and on occasions fatigue, emotion strain and an imbalance between work and home life can sneak in. We need to be kind to ourselves and our colleagues and recognise when support or a break is needed.
Why have you stayed in policing?
I wanted to be an officer since I wore my uncle’s uniform at the age of four and the ambition never diminished. There aren’t many careers that offer such a wide diversity of roles and opportunities, that present so large a range of challenges, nor demand such a high level of personal resilience, as policing does.
What does this role give/mean to you?
In 2019, I was given a unique opportunity to design a national policing programme (TOEX) from the ground up and whilst stressful at times, it has been a huge privilege and a very steep learning curve! Having not experienced such a significant level of trust, flexibility and empowerment before, it became clear to me that by giving the team time and space to be creative, extraordinary progress was possible.
My greatest achievement within TOEX has been to surround myself with dedicated, capable and innovative individuals, all of whom have contributed to its success and helped to secure TOEX’s future in policing. I have a huge sense of pride for the progress we have made together and I’m confident there’s more to come.
The full version of this article can be found here. In the next edition, we’ll hear from DCI Pat Thompson, TOEX Technical Lead, on all things that make him tick.
Chorus Collaboration Award
We’re pleased to share that some of our TOEX staff have won the ‘Collaboration Award’ at the Chorus Intelligence Awards – for their outstanding teamwork and cross-agency impact.
The Chorus Intelligence Suite (CIS) has recently been rolled out across the TOEX network and provides a one platform, one dashboard solution for managing digital investigations.
The Collaboration Award recognises individuals or teams who have worked together across departments, units, forces, or agencies to achieve exceptional results using Chorus.
And we’re delighted that our TOEX ‘super users’ - Rachel Amies, Holly Alexander, Sally Parker, Seren Thomas, Olivia Beasley, Joe Franchi, Hannah Bartram, Abigail Meredith, Jenna Hill-Dingley, Jordan Rix and Vicky Quick, won the award for acting as points of contact, mentoring staff, handling queries, liaising with ICT teams, testing systems, and helping establish national procedures. Balancing these duties alongside their regular roles, their dedication, guidance, and resilience over the past eight months have been invaluable to the project’s success.
Head of UK Chorus, Scott Orton, said: “Congratulations to the TOEX Super Users on receiving the Chorus Collaboration Award. Your commitment, teamwork, and determination have played a vital role in supporting the fight against exploitation. On behalf of everyone at Chorus, thank you for your continued hard work and outstanding partnership.”