Online child offences soar
CASES of perverts accessing child pornography have nearly doubled in five years and child grooming has increased by almost six times in that period – with the numbers rising even more sharply in lockdown.
Latest figures show there were 25,311 instances of “obscene publications” between April 2019 and April 2020, compared to 13,037 in the same period in 2015-2016.
Cases of child grooming have also increased six-fold, from 963 to 5,878.
This is part of a wider trend showing a huge increase in sexually-based crimes against minors across England and Wales. Instances of sexual assault on under-16s have risen from 11,515 to 14,217, while rape has also seen a surge, from 5,321 to 6,779.
Figures from 2020 reveal a sharp increase during lockdown as more children are online for longer, with 17,699 online child sex offences recorded by police in England and Wales between April and September.
This was 2,516 more than during same period in 2019.
Charities say the statistics reveal the heightened risk youngsters face from abusers online during the pandemic. Susie Hargreaves, CEO at the Internet Watch Foundation, said: “Children are online for longer with some being tricked, encouraged or coerced into sharing very graphic sexual images of themselves.
“Of all the children we see, over 90 per cent are girls and 80 per cent are girls aged 11 to 13.
“These are often children in normal bedrooms, smart bedrooms, not necessarily abandoned or with parents neglecting them. It is a case of parents not being aware of what’s happening in their own home.” Andy
Burrows, head of child safety online policy at the NSPCC, said: “The Government’s Online Safety Bill comes at a crucial time. It can lead to ground-breaking protections if it gives the regulator the power to hold tech firms accountable.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy will ensure offenders are swiftly brought to justice. It includes equipping police with enhanced powers and tools, introducing the Online Safety Bill and GCHQ collaborating with the tech industry on solutions to crack down on child sexual abuse.”
MURDERED WPC Yvonne Fletcher should be awarded a posthumous George Medal for bravery, Parliament will be told this week.
The “exceptionally talented” officer was shot outside the Libyan embassy in London in April 1984, where she was policing a demonstration against Colonel Gaddafi.
The 25-year-old’s death led to a siege of the embassy and Britain severing diplomatic ties with Libya.
Even as she lay mortally wounded her first thoughts were for the welfare of others, the House of Commons will hear this week.
Former colonel Bob Stewart, who wrote citations for gallantry in the Army, will make his case during a debate on Tuesday.
He will quote from police officer John Murray’s account of travelling to hospital with WPC Fletcher in an ambulance with injured protesters who were bleeding from their wounds. She had seemed “more concerned about them” than her own injuries and urged them to stay calm.
Mr Stewart, now a Conservative MP, said: “It’s those words, her demeanour, her courage that qualifies her for the George Medal in my view.”
Mr Murray said he is also “100 per cent” behind the bid for her to receive the honour.
He said: “I was with her when she was shot, I was standing next to her. After she was shot the ambulance came so I went in with her.”
He recallswpc Fletcher assuring wounded Libyans there were
people helping them and telling them not to worry.
Then 29, Mr Murray had worked with her for three years before the incident and remembers her popularity with the public.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “It is testament to WPC Fletcher’s legacy that, even though it is approaching 37 years since she was tragically murdered, her
memory endures. Every April, officers – both serving and retired – return to Yvonne’s memorial stone in St James’s Square on the anniversary of her death to pay their respects and remember her.we will never forget Yvonne’s sacrifice.”
Former policing and Armed Forces minister Sir Mike Penning has called for an inquiry into her killing. He said: “I want the murderer behind bars. It’s what the British public would expect.”