You asked
Could you provide me with the following:
How many crimes were reported since 1999 relating to sexual offences where an online dating service was mentioned during a police investigation?
How many crimes were related to online dating with regards to financial fraud?
How many identity theft crimes were reported mentioning online dating?
We said
Thank you for your email.
We publish statistics taken from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and crimes recorded by the police. Unfortunately, we cannot provide data on crimes relating specifically to online dating apps or for the level of detail you require.
The closest data available relate to incidents of 'dating scams' recorded by Action Fraud. Crime in England and Wales: Appendix Table A5 of our most recent quarterly statistical release, Crime in England and Wales: year ending September 2020, provides a breakdown, by reporting body, of the different types of fraud. Within this release, the number of recorded dating scams are listed under 'Advance fee payments'.
The CSEW also provides information on advance fee fraud, however it is not possible to break this down specifically to identify dating scams.
It is possible that Action Fraud may be able to help you further with your enquiry. They can be contacted at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/contact-us.
More detailed data on police recorded sexual offences are collated by the Home Office. You may wish to try contacting them (via crimeandpolicestats@homeoffice.gov.uk ) to see if they can provide the information you require.
If you would like any further information, you can simply email us at CrimeStatistics@ons.gov.uk and we will endeavour to help.