Police boss warns sex offenders over lockdown
Police Scotland has launched a campaign targeting sexual predators who groom and abuse children online.
With lockdown in place across Scotland, people are now at home for long periods of time, prompting more internet use and increasing the opportunity for predators to target children online.
The new #GetHelpOrGetCaught campaign targets men who are either already offending or at risk of offending.
It features a film which challenges behaviour and asks the question: if you wouldn’t do it in the real world, why groom and abuse children in the online world?
Assistant chief constable Duncan Sloan, lead for Major Crime and Public Protection, Police Scotland, said:
“Protecting children from abuse online is one of our top priorities.
“But we are now living through a period of heightened risk, as people follow guidance and practice social distancing during the Covid-19 outbreak.
“We are acutely aware that people are at home, that they have more time to access the internet and that the potential risk of online child abuse is, therefore, extremely high.
“This makes our current campaign even more relevant.
“Online child sexual abuse is not virtual, its repercussions are real.
“Grooming, indecent communication and causing children to participate in sexual activity, are all serious criminal offences.
“Offenders will be identified and arrested and they will face the consequences of their actions: not just a conviction but the potential loss of family, reputation and work/livelihood.
“Abusers are responsible for their actions, it is up to them to take action and stop, to get help or get caught.”
Matt Forde, national head of service for NSPCC Scotland, welcomed the campaign:
He said:“Each year hundreds of crimes of online child sexual abuse are recorded by police in Scotland, and we are deeply concerned that offenders are exploiting the conditions created by this current public health crisis, with children spending more time online.
“Police Scotland has - now even more so than ever - rightly identified tackling these crimes as a priority, through raising awareness of the issue and sending a direct and robust message to offenders.
“However, law enforcement can in no way win this fight alone – tech firms must urgently make protecting children a task of utmost importance, by identifying and disrupting offenders on their sites.
“It is also extremely important that parents have regular conversations with their children about their online activities and try to make them feel comfortable to talk about anything that concerns them.”