Home Office Backs National Rollout of Groundbreaking TOEX Tools
Policing across England and Wales is set to receive a major boost in its fight against serious and organised crime, as the Home Office announces funding for the national rollout of the Tackling Organised Exploitation (TOEX) Programme Capabilities Environment. 
The investment means that all 43 police forces in England and Wales will now have access to the TOEX Capabilities Environment (CE)—a secure platform providing innovative tools designed to support complex investigations into serious crimes such as group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The announcement follows the publication of the ‘National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse’, authored by Baroness Louise Casey. The audit made 12 recommendations for improving the national policing response to this type of crime, and today’s funding marks a key step in turning those recommendations into action.
Technology That Makes a Difference
The TOEX Capabilities Environment equips officers and staff with tools that streamline investigative processes, saving valuable time and resources for any policing investigation. Already in use across a number of forces, and some of these tools have been independently evaluated, by the Home Office, and found to deliver faster results, reduce investigative delays, and free up officers to focus on frontline work and victim support.
Available tools include:
- TOEX Translate – machine translations of seized mobile devices, for bulk triage and intelligence development.
- TOEX Transcribe – converts audio and video media to transcripts, with the ability to populate victim and suspect interviews directly to a police file format.
- TOEX Companies House Navigation Tool - identifies and visualises network links between companies and people.
- TOEX Wing-It - search tool providing users with access to the previous 12 months’ inbound and outbound flight data across all UK airports.
- TOEX Map Scraper - identifies all published data on Azure maps relating to a chosen business type across a chosen geographic area.
- TOEX Data Analyser and Review Tool (DART) - analyses and reviews large amounts of digital device data to swiftly identify patterns and relationships.
Additional tools will be added later this year.
These capabilities are delivered via a secure, UK-hosted cloud platform, with no need for additional software installation or force-level IT changes. The tools are provided free to forces thanks to Home Office funding.
Supporting Victims, Strengthening Investigations
Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, said:
"The sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs is one of the most horrific crimes and we must punish perpetrators, provide justice for victims and survivors, and protect today's children from harm.
"In June, this government responded to Baroness Casey's report by announcing a national inquiry to direct targeted local reviews, alongside a new national police operation—measures that will deliver real results—and we've wasted no time in making these happen.
“One recommendation within the report focussed on the need to upgrade police information systems to improve investigations involving children at risk. Today’s announcement sees investment in these critical technical enablers, with the TOEX platform bringing tools directly to the frontline, in support of the timely and effective response to these threats.”
Deputy Chief Constables Becky Riggs and Dave McLaren, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) leads for Child Protection and Abuse Investigation and the National Intelligence Portfolio respectively, welcomed the announcement:
“This funding gives every force access to proven tools that make a real difference in our ability to investigate complex crimes, safeguard victims, and pursue offenders more effectively.
“The TOEX Programme is a powerful example of what we can achieve when we combine operational insight with innovative technology. The national rollout of these tools will improve outcomes for victims and deliver a more consistent, intelligence-led approach across the country.”
In addition, a spokesperson for the National Data and Analytics Office said: “TOEX is committed to ensure that its products and services form part of the long-term strategy for national technology, data, and analytical capabilities across policing. To facilitate this, they will be working with the National Data and Analytics Office (NDAO) and Police Digital Service (PDS) as part of the Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) portfolio to progress this work going forward.”
A Collaborative Step Forward
The TOEX Programme is proud to work in partnership with policing, the Home Office, wider law enforcement and industry partners such as Simpson Associates and TDCom, and was established to support investigations into serious and organised exploitation, particularly where data complexity presents a barrier to progress.
The rollout of the Capabilities Environment represents a significant milestone in national efforts to tackle some of the most harmful and challenging crimes affecting communities today.