News Release issued by
the COI News Distribution Service on 06 September 2009
Uk’s national
centre for protecting children reveals latest trends in sexual offending
Child sex offenders are switching between the internet and the
offline world with increasing frequency and severity in order to
target and in some cases abduct young victims and parents could
and should do more, said the UK national policing centre for child
protection – the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP)
Centre – today.
Publishing its 2008/09 Strategic Overview designed to inform the
wider policing and child protection communities of the emerging
trends and patterns of offender behaviour, CEOP urged parents to
also take note and have published a public version via podcasts
and downloads so that they too can understand how the threat
manifests itself.
Almost 5500 reports were received by the Centre during the past
12 months of which 2500 came from members of the public using the
organisation’s unique online “CEOP Report” button. 1373 of those
reports were from young children themselves of which 89% related
specifically to instances of grooming.
It is analysis of those reports that provide the basis for much
of the organisation’s increasing understanding. Cases in the past
12 months range from instances where offenders have infiltrated
social networking and other online environments to collect
pictures of young children to examples of sustained grooming and
blackmail with offenders seeking to meet a child offline for
abduction and sexual abuse.
CEOP also report a growing trend where offenders are using online
networks to communicate with each other, show live-time abuse and
share images – with the severity of the sexual contact captured,
or the newness of the offence committed, gaining the offender
extra kudos with like minded individuals.
Jim Gamble is Chief Executive of the CEOP Centre and heads up
child protection for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO):
“There is a danger that each year we and many others appear to be
saying the same thing. Offenders use the internet, children put
themselves at risk and parents and carers remain oblivious. Have
we reached saturation point of safety advice or are we being
intimated and seduced by the complexity of the technology?
“There is a strong mix of both and simplicity is the key while
apathy is a risk. This is not about understanding technology or
even necessarily the latest online service. It is about behaviour.
That is why we have taken today’s step and put out podcasts and
materials that supplemented by our wider services demystify the
jargon and rhetoric and ask parents and carers to sit up and take
note.
“Some in the online industry could do more and we have said that
before. But parents and carers need to accept greater
responsibility and go beyond stating that they don’t understand
this new environment. We simply do not see evidence of parents
using the resources we offer. The advice you need is there so
please use it. It is user friendly and accessible from
ceop.police.uk, ITUNES and CEOP's YouTube Channel.
“Not only that, we have listened to children, industry, NGO’s and
other specialists and created a one-stop shop behind our “CEOP
Report” online tab – if you want information on issues ranging
from cyber bullying to viruses, to find contact details for your
local police child protection team or to speak to us directly then
ceop.police.uk gives you that service.”
CEOP has seen a particular increase in the use of webcams linked
to instant messaging technology to incite a child to perform or to
witness a sexual act: 34% of grooming reports made by children
under-18 incited a child to perform a sexual act; 20% incited a
child to watch a sexual act.
In addition, analysis of the reports demonstrates that the online
and offline worlds are truly converged: the ‘virtual’ environment
is simply an extension of the real, physical world and that is as
true for young people as it is for offenders.
Where there used to be separate online services such as email,
photo sharing, gaming and chat – all these services are now rolled
into one environment; further, the internet can be accessed from a
range of devices. This means that children and young people are
increasingly accessible to offenders: like them, they can access
the internet 24/7 from any location.
To register for regular updates about protecting children online
or to download public version of the Strategic Overview visit www.ceop.police.uk.
Notes to editors
1. Podcasts for parents and professionals of CEOP Strategic
Overview 2008/09 and a full copy of the document can be found at
www.ceop.police.uk
2. Anyone providing an online environment where children go can
apply to embed the ‘CEOP Report’ button by visiting www.ceop.police.uk/digitallibrary
3. The CEOP Centre works in both the online and offline
environments to protect children from sexual exploitation. Full
information on all areas of work as well as online safety messages
and access to online reporting can be found at www.ceop.police.uk.
For further information:
Miriam Rich, Vicky Gillings, Clive Michel or Hannah Bickers on
0870 000 3434.
Out of Hours: Clive Michel, 07899 064 333.
Contacts:
NDS Enquiries
Phone: For enquiries please contact the above department
ndsenquiries@coi.gsi.gov.uk