Effect of 13k notices was not checked

CAWNs were meant to protect kids

- BY ZAK GARNER-PURKIS

THE Express spent months probing the origin of warning notices and the scale of their use.

We found that mentions of Child Abduction Warning Notices began in the 2000s, having been adapted from a previous tool meant to highlight concerning relationships with children.

The first mention of them being used in a national strategy to tackle violence against women and girls is a 2011 report authored by Sir Keir. It cites work that “has taken place [with police chiefs] on drafting and agreeing Child Abduction Warning Notices”.

After the report and the sex abuse gang scandals, their use soared from 103 in 2008 to 1,254 in 2025. Freedom of Information data shows police have issued at least 13,000 CAWNs to adults since 2008. The true figure may be far higher as records are inconsistent.

Most forces could not comply with our request as they cannot access the data - while one said it would take a year to compile.

Inspectors have criticised the lack of accessibility or followup.

Despite their widespread use, there has never been research into if such notices are effective in tackling child sexual abuse.

Huddersfield University said in 2021: "It is not known whether issuing CAWNs acts as a deterrent...or how often their use has supported successful prosecutions". While defence lawyers specialising in these crimes said they had barely seen them used in a courtroom.

FROM PAGE ONE

PM’s position “completely untenable”, adding: “Instead of fighting for the full force of the law against vile grooming gang predators, Keir Starmer presided over a system that sent out weak and useless ‘warning letters’ to paedophiles.”