More training need for police to tackle online child sexual abuse
Police Federation of England and Wales
Police Federation of England and Wales response to the Middlesex University London report, Enhancing Police and Industry Practice: EU Child Online Safety Project.
Karen Stephens, lead on public protection units for the PFEW, said:
“The estimated figures of the number of people coming into contact with online child sexual abuse, are frightening.
“Whilst more is being done to tackle the issue, this is the work of a relative few and the report clearly highlights the need for improved training beyond specialist teams, something we fully support. Nearly two thirds (60%) of officers said they’d investigated some form of online child sexual abuse, but the majority of these had not received any training.
“Change is inevitable in all parts of life and society, and crime is no exception. Government and those at the helm must change and adapt to manage this by providing officers with the right tools and importantly, the right training, beyond simply your traditional online tutorial.
“Protecting victims, particularly children, from online sexual abuse is one way the police have a positive and tangible effect on how safe the public is, and officers want to be able to do that in the most effective way. At a time where our members are firefighting to simply manage day-to-day demand, leaders must consider times ahead, how crime will continue to evolve, and how we put ourselves in a place to tackle it head-on in order to protect the public.”
