Two frontline references for officers dealing with online grooming, CSE and county lines. Digital First Aid for the moment a child hands you a device, and a searchable slang glossary for the language used in modern exploitation networks.
⚖️ Aligned with the College of Policing APP: Device handling and evidence capture in child abuse and exploitation cases should follow the College of Policing's Investigating child abuse and safeguarding children APP and your force's digital-forensics procedures, applied through the National Decision Model with the Code of Ethics at its centre. Safeguard the child first.
Part 1
A child or young person hands you a phone, tablet or laptop they say contains indecent images, grooming messages, or county lines activity. What you do in the first five minutes can preserve — or destroy — the evidence. Modern devices use full-disk encryption and remote-wipe; a single wrong move can lock the data forever.
A child handing over exploitation material is very likely a victim of CSE or CCE. Address immediate welfare and safety before evidence. Consider a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) referral and a safeguarding referral in parallel.
Is it on or off? Locked or unlocked? Apps open? Photograph the screen. If it is unlocked, this is the most valuable state — keep it that way (see step 4).
Enable flight mode if you can without unlocking, then place the device in a Faraday bag. No bag to hand? Several tight layers of aluminium foil, a metal tin, or a switched-off microwave will block signal as a field improvisation — but isolation drains the battery faster, so keep it on power.
Attach a power bank. If it is unlocked and your force policy allows, you may extend the auto-lock / screen-timeout to keep it accessible for the examiner — but document exactly what you changed and why. Do not turn it off to "save battery".
Establish your power to seize (see legal basis below). Exhibit-label the device, chargers and any SIMs/SD cards separately. Maintain an unbroken chain of custody on the exhibit log.
If the child volunteers a passcode, record it and how it was obtained. Do not compel it from a suspect at the roadside — that engages separate powers (e.g. RIPA s.49 / s.53 notices) handled by investigators.
Pass the powered, isolated device to your Digital Forensic Unit as a priority. Flag the remote-wipe and encryption risk so it is triaged quickly.
Legal basis & standards
Seizure: a constable lawfully on premises may seize evidence under PACE 1984 s.19 where there are reasonable grounds to believe it is evidence and seizure is necessary to prevent it being concealed, lost, altered or destroyed. s.20 PACE covers information stored electronically. For street encounters and voluntary handovers, confirm your power and treat the item as an exhibit. Retention is governed by s.22 PACE.
Handling standard: follow the NPCC / ACPO Good Practice Guide for Digital Evidence — Principle 1: no action should change data relied upon in court; Principle 2: only a competent person should access original data; Principle 3: keep an audit trail; Principle 4: the case officer is responsible for compliance.
Indecent images — a warning
Do not view, copy, share or forward suspected indecent images of children to "check" them. Viewing or distributing such material outside an authorised process can itself be an offence (Protection of Children Act 1978). Note that it is reported and let trained examiners handle it.
Part 2
The language of exploitation moves quickly and varies by area and platform. This is an indicative reference to help officers and DSLs decode messages, social media and street talk — it is not exhaustive, and a term's presence is an indicator to explore, not proof. Search by term or meaning, or filter by category.
Last reviewed: June 2026. Slang evolves constantly — treat this as a living reference. Spotted a term that should be added? Email hello@safeguard-hub.org and we'll review it for the next update.
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