Tenth Edition of E-Magazine Published
We have now published the tenth 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.
In this edition, we provide an update on the TOEX Capabilities Environment roll-out to forces, showcase further case studies and give more information on regional roadshows we’re co-hosting focusing on CSA and the SOC system.
We hope you enjoy reading this edition and share with others.
Click here to read the e-magazine
Alternatively, if you prefer to read the e-mag in plain text, please see below.
Strategic Update
Welcome to the tenth edition of our E-Magazine, where we are happy to be sharing operational and technical progress made over the summer.
TOEX remains committed to engaging with policing, law enforcement and professional partners, so we can share details of the capacity and capabilities on offer, but also learn from valuable practitioner experience as to what would help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your SOC investigations. The operating model continues to be refined because of force feedback, a key part of which is our response to the surveys completed by investigating officers after TOEX support has been provided.
In July, to assist with force and regional understanding of the performance and value-added by the ROCU-based TOEX teams, Chief Officer teams in every force and region were provided with a TOEX performance pack. It provided details of programme performance against organised exploitation threats, the contribution made by the national coordination team, an update on technical tooling and crucially case studies for each force to place the capabilities on offer within an operational context.
Finally, with a new administration in place, policing leaders are contributing to plans that address governmental priorities. With a clear national focus on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), public protection threats and community safety, the TOEX response remains well placed to help with that effort. In anticipation of the end of our current funding cycle in the spring, preparation for the next spending review is well advanced. Continued delivery of our operational response and technical enablers are the priority, as well as expanding innovation that supports the effectiveness of our response.
We remain well supported by our Home Office sponsors and ready to tackle the next phase of programme delivery!
Detective Chief Superintendent Kate Thacker - TOEX Director
Capabilities Environment Force Roll Out
800 officers and staff from Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, and Sussex Police are the first to have access to the TOEX Capabilities Environment (CE) to assist with complex investigations.
Before now, only TOEX staff could access the CE, but the TOEX Programme is delighted to announce that the platform and associated tools is now being rolled out force-wide with West Mercia Constabulary following the other four forces this September.
Users have been nominated by SPoCs in each force and comprise frontline practitioners plus first line manager level, i.e., Constable/Sergeant and staff equivalent. These individuals have been selected from across uniform, specialist and relevant support roles - including intelligence professionals, analysts, digital media investigators, public protection detectives, custody investigators and response officers.
In January 2024 we announced the arrival of the CE, launching a secure Microsoft Azure domain that acts as a hosting platform (‘app store’) for operational applications, and has been developed to deliver against a lawful policing purpose.
The CE currently hosts a user Landing Page App (to navigate the various tools and training guides), as well as the first two tools - TOEX Translate and TOEX Transcribe, with four other applications being added during 2024.
Since the roll out across forces, more than 366 videos have been transcribed by officers and staff and more than half a billion characters translated.
Feedback has included:
“Just tried TOEX Transcribe for the first time for [offence]. Very impressed. This will save us so much time. From download to product was about 60 minutes. Typist would have taken about 8-10 hours.” - Det Sgt – Major Enquiry Team
“Took it for a test drive and compared the output with one of our proofread interviews. Very impressed with the transcription accuracy.” - Police Staff – HOLMES Room Manager
TOEX Director, Detective Chief Superintendent Kate Thacker, said, “This development is breaking new ground, and we are extremely proud of our technical team and key industry partners.
“TOEX made a commitment to work with national policing partners with a desire to share as many of these tools and applications with wider UK law enforcement as possible and the roll out to forces is already making a positive difference to operational policing delivery.”
Organised Immigration Crime: Case Study
In early 2023, the National Crime Agency requested support from TOEX after 12 Vietnamese children were issued visit visas to attend an English course at a school in London. However, the group did not arrive at the school, and there was no lead agency responsible for locating the children around the UK as there was no intelligence indicating which force area they might be in.
Over the course of the intelligence development, 10 of the children were identified or came forward to immigration or police, some in circumstances which were indicative of modern slavery or other forms of exploitation.
The TOEX Response
The TOEX team were asked to fill intelligence gaps to identify the location of the missing children, to understand whether there was evidence of immigration crime or modern slavery, and to determine if the victims had been subjected to any form of organised exploitation.
Extensive intelligence work revealed the complexity of this case, including revealing the identities of international visa sponsors, professional enablers, and an organised paternity fraud ring.
In addition, a male suspect was identified as to using his British national status for different Vietnamese females to obtain right to remain in the UK and had been named as father of 14 children. Furthermore, it was found that this male, who is a registered sex offender, was being paid for providing his details on birth certificates. An additional two males were identified as organising, facilitating, and benefiting from assisting Vietnamese females with obtaining birth certificates stating the father is a UK national.
As a result of TOEX and partner agency involvement, all the original missing persons have been located and safeguarding activity initiated.
Many systemic issues contributed to the exploitation of these victims which have now either been addressed or are in the process of being reviewed at a national level by law enforcement and relevant professional partners. This includes issues such as schools having no obligation to report children as missing, no police force being responsible for people that go missing from airports, and loopholes within the birth registration process which is enabling mass paternity fraud.
TOEX has received the below feedback from Home Office Intelligence colleagues in relation to this operation: “As well as providing specific technical support around locating missing children, [the operation] focused on the collaboration of intelligence teams across multiple agencies.
“National TOEX led on pulling this intelligence together into a single intelligence product, making connections between OCGs, persons of interest and other connecting entities. This was crucial in identifying multiple avenues for mitigation across government. They also led with the management of the multi-agency response, which was a significant piece of work, but resulted in a number of outcomes and demonstrates the worth of national TOEX as a co-ordinating role in large scale complex exploitation investigations.”
TOEX Vlogs and Infographics
This quarter we published our updated infographics, which detail significant progress and key highlights of the TOEX Programme in response to tackling serious and organised exploitative crime.
The documents focus on the operational outcomes and technical enablers, highlighting activity undertaken since the inception of the programme and the additional capacity and capability the TOEX approach has provided policing across the vulnerability landscape.
Click here to view the updated infographics: Latest news (toexprogramme.co.uk)
In addition, and to ensure we keep our content relevant and engaging to those investigating complex cases, we have filmed a number of vlogs with members of the TOEX national team.
The vlogs are no longer than 90 seconds and provide officers and staff with key information on how they can access TOEX support.
The vlogs will be published on our YouTube channel, which can be accessed here: TOEX Programme - YouTube
CSA SOC Roadshow Events
Investigations spanning national and international boundaries, technology, AI, and the metaverse present ever-evolving challenges and these complex investigations warrant specialist support from regional and national law enforcement partners.
To help meet this challenge, Detective Inspectors and Sergeants will be invited to regional events to raise awareness of child sexual abuse and exploitation, highlight changes in the culture of the law enforcement response, and discuss how complex CSAE investigations can be managed with the support of regional and national capabilities, such as the TOEX Programme, the CSE Taskforce, and the NCA.
The first event takes place at the end of September in the Yorkshire and Humber region with further days planned in the Northwest and West Midlands regions over the next few months.
The day will consist of interactive presentations by a number of law enforcement agencies as well as hearing from those with lived experience of child sexual abuse and exploitation, case studies, and opportunities for delegates to network with colleagues.
The event will be opened by NPCC’s Child Protection lead, ACC Becky Riggs and closed by Deputy Director of child sexual abuse at the NCA, Wendy Hart.
More info about how officers can register for the events can be found here: CSA SOC Roadshow Events | TOEX (toexprogramme.co.uk)