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A NEW APPROACH TO FIGHTING
ON-LINE CHILD ABUSE
The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) was created in 2003 as a direct
response to lessons learned from investigations into on-line child
abuse around the world. It is an international alliance of law
enforcement agencies working together to make the Internet a safer
place. The VGT comprises the Australian High Tech Crime Centre, the
National Crime Squad for England and Wales, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, the US Department of Homeland Security and
Interpol. Jim Gamble, Deputy Director General of the National Crime
Squad, is the current Chair.
The VGT delivers innovative crime prevention and crime reduction
initiatives to deter and prevent individuals from committing child
abuse on-line. These compliment the work of existing law
enforcement agencies without encroaching into areas that are the
responsibility of individual agencies or forces. In recognition of
resource constraints, initiatives are low in cost but high in
impact. They are also global in scope as traditional concepts of
geography and remit do not apply to crimes of this type. To fight
on-line child abuse effectively, the VGT believes that a global
approach is the only approach.
Recent research conducted by ICM revealed that 89% of British
adults agreed that there should be a great deal or fair amount of
co-operation between the UK police and international law
enforcement agencies to help improve child safety on-line1. The
Virtual Global Taskforce provides the ideal platform for delivering
improved international co-operation. The mission of the VGT
is:
- to make the Internet a safer place;
- to identify, locate and help children at risk; and
- to hold perpetrators appropriately to account.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Since 2003, the VGT has developed and delivered a number of crime
prevention and crime reduction initiatives. These include:
- A VGT Website. A new website - www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com -
was launched on 26 January 2005. The website acts as a gateway to a
wide range of information on how to use the Internet safely, and
links to a range of support agencies which advise and support
victims of abuse. It sends out a clear message to those who use the
internet to search for and share images of child abuse, or to
approach children in chat rooms to "groom" them for sexual abuse,
that law enforcement is active on-line and that the internet is not
an anonymous place. The aim, over time, is for the website to
become a "one stop shop" for all information about child protection
on-line. It will also facilitate the ability of Internet users to
report on-line child abuse in a secure and confidential
environment.
- Operation PIN. Operation PIN involves the creation of a website
that purports to contain images of child abuse but which, in fact,
is a law enforcement site. 1 ICM interviewed a random sample of
1,009 adults aged 18+ by telephone between 12-13 January 2005.
Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have
been weighted to the profile of all adults. ICM is a member of the
British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Further
information at www.icmresearch.co.uk Anyone who enters the site and
who attempts to download images is confronted with an on-line law
enforcement presence. The individual is informed that he has
entered a law enforcement website, has committed an offence and
that his details may have been captured and passed to the relevant
national authorities. Since its launch in 2003, Operation PIN has
captured the details of individuals from a number of different
countries who were actively looking for images of child abuse.
However, this is not the primary aim of this initiative. Operation
PIN is designed as a crime reduction initiative and its real
success has been in undermining the confidence of those who think
that the Internet is an anonymous place where paedophiles and other
criminals can operate without fear of being caught. Over the coming
months, the VGT will be working to refine Operation PIN and make
the Internet an increasingly hostile and dangerous place for those
seeking images of child abuse.
- VGT Industry Partnerships. The private sector has a key role to
play in tackling on-line child abuse. Key industry players are
working with the VGT to help make the Internet safer by design. To
recognise those companies that are leading the way in promoting
safety on the Internet, the VGT is launching an industry
partnership initiative. The aim is to recognise publicly good
corporate citizenship, support innovative thinking and, ultimately,
to reduce the incidence of child abuse on-line. The founding VGT
Industry Partners in the UK - Microsoft/MSN, AOL(UK), Vodafone and
BT - are working with the VGT to develop this collaboration.
Partners will develop mutual understanding within the international
on-line child protection community and cooperate on the
introduction of best practice for protection of children within the
industry.
THE FUTURE
In 2005, the VGT will build on the strengths and successes of
recent initiatives. It will work with industry to refine aspects of
Operation PIN, take forward the second phase of development of the
VGT website and roll out the industry partnership initiative. The
VGT will also deliver a range of new crime prevention and reduction
initiatives. These include:
A 24/7 On-line Presence. This initiative, which is
being led by the Australian High Tech Crime Centre (AHTCC),
involves delivering an on-line reassuring presence on the Internet.
This will take the form of a physical presence, for example, an
officer at a PC overtly visiting a chat room in much the same way
that he or she would walk through a shopping centre, street, park
or other public space. Officers in Australia, Canada, the UK and
the USA will each perform "shifts" to ensure that this presence is
truly 24/7. This initiative is still at the planning stage,
although a pilot scheme could be operating by the end of the
year.
A "Most Wanted" Initiative. This involves the
creation of a page on the VGT website along the lines of the FBI's
"Most Wanted" site. The "Most Wanted" page would include images, or
partial images, of paedophiles or suspected paedophiles. The nature
of on-line child abuse means it can be difficult to identify where
an offender comes from or where an offence is being committed.
The
value of the VGT publishing images of offenders means that they can
be shared amongst agencies worldwide. This initiative, led by the
National Crime Squad in the UK, is currently in the research
stage.
A VGT International Summit. In September 2005, the
VGT plans to hold a Summit to initiate a frank, open, and global
dialogue between industry and law enforcement and to encourage the
public and private sectors to come up with some of the solutions to
tackling on-line child abuse. This supports VGT and industry work
to make the internet safer by design.
Opening up Membership of the VGT to G8 and EU Partners.
Over the next 12 months, the VGT will be looking to open up VGT
membership to other key law enforcement agencies, in particular
from G8 and EU partners.
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Ms Mr Jim Gamble / Harriet Cross, National Crime Squad
(UK) Deputy Director General.
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