01/04/2005

Home Office launches crack down on Net paedophiles

The Home Office has announced new measures to protect children from being 'groomed' by internet paedophiles.

As part of the plans new Centre for Child Protection on the Internet will be set up to provide support for the police and child protection agencies.

The centre will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide facilities for anyone wishing to report incidents of paedophiles targeting children online. It will also offer information and advice to victims, potential victims and their parents, as well as guidance to relevant agencies.

The centre will also assess and disseminate intelligence on offenders, develop prevention and reduction strategies to protect children from online abuse, undertake investigations of high priority targets and manage the national database of child abuse images.

Commenting on the new centre, Home Secretary Charles Clarke said: “The new centre will protect children online, help the police do their job more effectively, and catch and prosecute child abusers who target children through the internet. Parents know how to protect their children from danger offline; we want to help protect their children online in the same way."

The Home Office's announcement has been welcomed by children's charity, NCH. John Carr, a member of both NCH and the government's internet task force said: “This National Centre marks a big step forward in tackling online child abuse. It’s the first example anywhere in the world of the police, the industry, child welfare bodies and the Government working together under one roof to tackle internet child abuse.”

The centre, which will be operational by April 2006, will be attached to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and will be staffed by specialist police officers, as well as child protection and internet industry experts.

(KMcA/SP)

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