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)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

19 January 2015
Mobile Customers To Share £1m Refund
Mobile provide EE is to refund around £1m to a number of customers wrongly charged VAT between October 2012 and October 2014. It is understood that EE customers who travelled outside the EU during those dates and used internet data were affected by the charges. The company estimated it as being about 0.5% of its customers.
15 November 2013
Police Appeal For Missing Man From Hounslow
Police are appealing for information in tracing a 39-year-old male who has been missing from Hounslow since 4 November 2013. Ian Smith is also known to frequent Internet cafes in Richmond, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kingston. He has previously travelled to Scotland, Bath, Liverpool and Leeds. Smith is a white, 5ft 9" of medium build.
07 February 2012
Safer Internet Day Links Generations
Today is Safer Internet Day, a global drive to promote safer Internet for children and young people. More than 100 events in 30 European countries will encourage children, their families and teachers, to discover the digital world together. This is the ninth annual Safer Internet Day, celebrated in more than 70 countries worldwide.
18 November 2004
British Library boasts London's largest WiFi hotspot
The British Library has launched wireless Internet connectivity in the public areas of its building at St Pancras. The service offers wireless Internet access (WiFi) throughout the 11 reading rooms, the auditorium, the café and restaurant and the outdoor Piazza area.
07 May 2004
Survey shows e-government development slowing
UK e-government initiatives do not appear to be hitting home as, according to a recent survey, the UK is slipping down the global internet league table. The annual survey by Accenture revealed that the UK e-government programme had slumped from sixth in 2002 to ninth position in the global league table.