2,000 children quizzed by police over nude selfies

MORE than 2,000 children were reported to police over indecent images over the last three years, according to the NSPCC.

The leading children’s charity said 2,031 young people faced criminal investigation, including some as young as 12. The figures highlight fears that a generation of young people risks being criminalised by the soaring selfie culture.

There have been many examples of under-16s sharing intimate snaps on their mobile phones only to be accused of being paedophiles.

The NSPCC urged parents to talk to children about the risks of sharing nude selfies on mobiles and social media. It also raised concerns about the increasing sexualisation of young people as a result of the tidal wave of online pornography.

Charity bosses called on the Government to make global giants controlling the internet remove obscene images of children more quickly. They said internet firms need to develop and share technical solutions that weed out such pictures and make information about their progress public.

The NSPCC asked all 45 forces across the UK to reveal how many reports of offences involving indecent images they have received over the last three years.

The results showed the total number of crimes has more than doubled, rising from 4,530 in 2013 to 10,818 in 2015. Out of 21,651 criminal allegations of making, having or sharing indecent images, 2,031 were against under-18s.