At Nordland Police District, we have been prioritizing resources dedicated to detecting child abuse online for several years. This work brought results - several perpetrators were arrested, charged and convicted. Unfortunately, the scale of this type of crime turned out to be widespread. More common than what we were prepared for.
As Police Chief Heidi Kløkstad from the Nordland Police District writes, wysexual abuse of children is a crime. It causes physical and emotional harm to children, but also undermines the foundation of trust that children should have in adults. Development of various services on the Internet, including: Omegle adds a new dimension to violent crime. A crime that leaves lasting scars on the victim's life.
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It's important to see the warning signs
The police play an important role in investigating and prosecuting such crimes. However, we cannot stop at reacting after the damage has occurred. We must focus on prevention as a strategy to protect our children. Prevention involves building awareness and knowledge in society, especially among parents, teachers and children themselves. Children need to be able to understand what is acceptable behavior from adults and have the confidence to report suspicious behavior. Parents and teachers must be able to spot danger signs that may indicate that a child is being victimized so that appropriate action can be taken against the child immediately.
The police monitors internet activity
The police have systems in place to monitor online activity that indicates sexual exploitation, and when systems alert us to suspicious activity, we take action to the best of our ability. We spend a lot of resources on this, but more could be done with more resources.
Earlier this summer, we allowed NRK Nordland to complete an investigation into a case the police were working on. The case quickly gained publicity, and the police investigation revealed several hundred victims from all over the country. The accused in this case lives in a village near Bodø.
The use of the Omegle website is crucial in many cases that the police deal with. Omegle is an American website for anonymous video and text chatting with strangers. Perpetrators use the website to contact and sexually abuse children via the internet.
When the police make a seizure, there are often many recordings of video calls, including: on Omegle that you need to check out. Reviewing this material to identify the victim in the case is tedious and time-consuming.
Therefore, we contact the parents of victims who are under 18 years of age. This is demanding work, but important and necessary. The experience of these conversations shows that parents are most often not aware of what they are talking about their children are at risk online.
Online abuse is severely punished
Typical incidents are that perpetrators pretend to be someone other than who they actually are and then persuade children to perform sexual acts with them. This should be considered rape under Art. 299 of the Penal Code. The penalty for raping children under 14 years of age online is 10 years, and under certain conditions it can increase to 15 years. Rape is severely punished, even if it is committed online.
Some perpetrators of violence are under 18 years old
A disturbing percentage of perpetrators of violence is persons under 18 years of age. Unfortunately, our experience shows that young people also sexually abuse other children online. To deal with this, we need to understand what drives some young people to commit such acts. The causes may be complex and complex, but part of the problem may be a lack of understanding of healthy relationships and normal, healthy sexual behavior. And the scope shows that preventive activities must be targeted at young people. From all social actors who work with young people.
Prevention requires a collective effort
Preventing child sexual abuse, especially online, requires collective societal commitment. This is a collective responsibility that includes parents, teachers, technology companies, voluntary organizations and public authorities alike. By working together, we can help create a safer society for our children, including online.
Despite a tighter financial framework for the police, I choose to prioritize this important work. In the Nordland Police District, we have dedicated employees who contribute to securing online traces every day. We also have investigators and prosecutors who work to detect and hold accountable those who commit these types of activities. But we cannot do this task alone! That's why I'm asking for all good forces to work together so that our children can grow up in safe communities, without the risk of being exposed to abuse.
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Source: politiet
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