New law has helped save 29 kids from grooming
POLICE used a new law to protect 29 children from online sexual groomers in the six months after it was introduced.
The new offence of ‘sexual communication with a child’ via text messaging or social media was introduced in April last year.
Between April and September, Leicestershire Police recorded 29 incidents, according to research by the NSPCC.
Across England and Wales the total number of recorded offences over the same period was 1,316.
The charity’s long-running Flaw in the Law campaign had called for the new legislation as previously police could only act when an offender tried to meet up with a child.
Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram were the most common social media channels used by groomers and girls aged 12 to 15 were the most likely to be targeted, the charity said.
The charity is calling on Government and social networks to develop technology which is already in use to identify more offenders.
Algorithms already used by social networks to target adverts at social media users and to detect illegal online content should be used to alert children to potential grooming behaviour from adults they speak to online.
The algorithms, which can identify instances of typical grooming language used by offenders, could also be used to alert moderators of suspected groomers and enable them to notify police.
At present algorithms already automatically flag child abuse images, hate speech and extremist content to moderators for removal.
Tony Stower, the NSPCC head of child safety online, said: “Despite the staggering number of grooming offences in just six months, Government and social networks are not properly working together and using all the tools available to stop this crime from happening.
“The Government’s Internet Safety Strategy must require social networks to build in technology to keep their young users safe, rather than relying on police to step in once harm has already been done.
“If Government makes a code for social networks that is entirely optional and includes no requirement for platforms to tackle grooming, this is a massive missed opportunity and children will continue to be put at risk.”
The NSPCC previously said the law change could have prevented tragedies such as the murder of Measham teenager Kayleigh Haywood.
The 15-year-old met up with a man who groomed her online before his neighbour raped and murdered the schoolgirl.
On April 5 2016, Luke Harlow, 28, from Ibstock, admitted grooming Kayleigh Haywood and pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity.
His neighbour, Stephen Beadman, 29, admitted to rape and murder on April 5 2016.
He was found guilty of false imprisonment following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court on June 28 and was jailed for 12 years.
Matt Hancock MP, minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport told the BBC the Government was working on making the UK the safest place in the world to go online and that should include grooming alerts.
Meanwhile Facebook has previously said it was already using technology to identify grooming behaviour. The Home Office said £20m was spent pursuing grooming offenders in 2017.
Children who are worried about inappropriate messages online can contact Childline on 0800 11 11 or visit: www.childline.org.uk