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04/03/2005
Increasing internet porn offences fuel calls for police-run centre
A children's charity has called for a national centre to combat online offences against children.
NCH argues that the latest figures, which revealed that arrests and convictions in the UK for internet-related pornography offences against children quadrupled in two years, highlights the urgent need for funding for a new national centre to be set up to combat online offences against children.
According to the latest Home Office figures, the number of people cautioned or charged with child pornography offences in 2003 was 2,234, up from only 549 in 2001.
NCH Internet Safety Advisor John Carr said: "These new and astonishing numbers reflect the arrests made during Operation Ore. But given ongoing police activity, the worry is that they represent not a blip but a new ‘normality’. Many police admit that they are still only touching the tip of a very ugly iceberg.
“There is now widespread agreement about the need for a new, high powered national centre to tackle internet crimes against children. The only thing there is not yet an agreement about is who should pay for it. We hope ministers can resolve this very soon. What NCH says is that we want a new national centre – and we want it now.”
The charity said that it hoped that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would follow the censorship lead provided by BT and Vodafone and block access to websites known to contain child pornography.
NCH will also ask the Home Secretary to investigate how many ISPs in the UK have yet to block access to such known illegal sites.
Mr Carr, who is a member of the government's Internet Task Force on Child Protection, added: “Child pornography on the internet is a modern curse and ISPs have a critical part to play in stamping it out. BT and Vodafone showed the way. We want everyone else to follow or, I am afraid, legislation compelling them to do so will be inevitable.”
In 1998, the year when the current legal framework for child pornography offences was established, only 35 cases were recorded.
(SP)
NCH argues that the latest figures, which revealed that arrests and convictions in the UK for internet-related pornography offences against children quadrupled in two years, highlights the urgent need for funding for a new national centre to be set up to combat online offences against children.
According to the latest Home Office figures, the number of people cautioned or charged with child pornography offences in 2003 was 2,234, up from only 549 in 2001.
NCH Internet Safety Advisor John Carr said: "These new and astonishing numbers reflect the arrests made during Operation Ore. But given ongoing police activity, the worry is that they represent not a blip but a new ‘normality’. Many police admit that they are still only touching the tip of a very ugly iceberg.
“There is now widespread agreement about the need for a new, high powered national centre to tackle internet crimes against children. The only thing there is not yet an agreement about is who should pay for it. We hope ministers can resolve this very soon. What NCH says is that we want a new national centre – and we want it now.”
The charity said that it hoped that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would follow the censorship lead provided by BT and Vodafone and block access to websites known to contain child pornography.
NCH will also ask the Home Secretary to investigate how many ISPs in the UK have yet to block access to such known illegal sites.
Mr Carr, who is a member of the government's Internet Task Force on Child Protection, added: “Child pornography on the internet is a modern curse and ISPs have a critical part to play in stamping it out. BT and Vodafone showed the way. We want everyone else to follow or, I am afraid, legislation compelling them to do so will be inevitable.”
In 1998, the year when the current legal framework for child pornography offences was established, only 35 cases were recorded.
(SP)
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