229% up Worrying rise in sex cyber crime against our young
SHOCKING new figures have revealed a worrying rise in cyber-related sex crimes against children across the North East.
A total of 5,653 child sex crimes committed against children as young as three had an online element across England and Wales in the last year.
This is an increase of nearly half from 2015/16, when 39 forces across England and Wales responding to a Freedom of Information request recorded 3,903 cyber-related sexual offences.
The latest data from Northumbria Police shows a staggering rise of 229.5%, with reported cyber sex offences against children rising from 98 to 323 in 2016/17.
Detective Chief Superintendent Lisa Orchard for the force said the safety of children is ‘paramount’ and urged anyone with concerns to report them.
She added: “We have a specialist safeguarding department and a cybercrime unit which are dedicated to protecting those who may be vulnerable to these sorts of crimes and preventing offenders being able to target them online.
“The internet has opened up new opportunities for abusers online and we are working closely with our partners to improve online safety education and raise awareness of how to stay safe online.
“We have improved our response to sexual abuse online and we are safeguarding children at risk and proactively targeting offenders and bringing them to justice.
“We will continue to work closely with our partners but we ask everyone to help us by being alert to signs of sexual activity online and sharing any concerns however small they may seem.”
This is the second year police have been required to record – ‘cyber flag’ – any crime that involved the internet.
On average, 15 internet-related sex crimes against children have been recorded each day by police. For offences where age was recorded, 13 was the most common age of the victim (257) but there were nearly 100 offences committed against children aged ten and under. The youngest victim was just three-years-old. Figures from Durham Constabulary were not obtained for 2015/16, but the latest FOI request shows 190 reports were received in the last year. A spokesman for the force said: “We are committed to tackling all forms of sexual offences, including those that are committed over the internet.
“We work in partnership with a number of agencies to support victims and to hold those who commit these abhorrent crimes to account.”
Following the release of the figures, the NSPCC is calling on the next government and police forces to make online safety for children a top priority.
The children’s charity is demanding an independent regulator to hold social media companies to account, and for minimum standards to be imposed on internet companies to safeguard children.
The NSPCC are also working towards safer social media accounts for children with default privacy settings for their protection.
Peter Wanless, CEO of the NSPCC, said: “These figures confirm our fears that offenders are exploiting the internet to target children for their own dark deeds.
“Children also tell our Childline service that they are being targeted online by some adults who pose as children and try to meet them, or persuade them to perform sexual acts on webcams, before blackmailing them.
“This terrifies them and can leave some feeling worthless, depressed, and suicidal.
“We cannot idly sit by knowing that more and more innocent young people are being harmed online. Today’s worrying data leaves the next government with no choice but to urgently address this issue.”
These figures confirm our fears that offenders are exploiting the internet to target children for their own dark deeds