UK Wedding News
06/11/2017
Latest data from police forces shows a surge in children sharing or possessing sexual images of themselves or others, with more than 6,200 incidents reported this year – an increase of 131% from 2014/2015.
It is understood police have received reports from children as young as 10, with a peak in cases involving 14-year-olds. Boys are as likely as girls to be recorded as suspects or perpetrators for sexting offences, but girls are more likely to be recorded as victims, suggesting that boys are more likely to share images without consent.
Elsewhere, there appears to be a decrease in the number of sexting offences during the month of August over the last three years, coinciding with school holidays.
Today, 06 November, representatives from police, education, charities and local and national government will meet at a conference in London to discuss the issue and how best to collectively safeguard children.
Initial analysis shows that the number of children facing charges in these cases has more than halved and the new outcome 21 is most commonly used, which enables forces to deal with sexting offences without criminalising children.
Outcome 21 can only be used in cases where there is no evidence of exploitation or malicious intent, and is endorsed by advice from the College of Policing to help officers respond to sexting offences proportionately.
The advice from the College, as well as separate advice for schools by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, recognises the long-term negative impact of criminalising young people. However, where there are signs of exploitation, forces will carry out a full criminal investigation.
Chief Constable Simon Bailey, National Police Chiefs Council Lead for Child Protection, said: "A third all of child sexual abuse is committed by young people themselves – tackling and preventing it is a significant challenge for both schools and the police.
"Parents, carers and schools have a crucial role to play in talking to children about what a healthy relationship looks like, their boundaries, consent and the ramifications of sharing sexual imagery.
"There is a worrying upward trend in children sharing sexual images, particularly regarding children who pass on indecent images of others.
"Sharing and possessing these images is against the law. Once an image is shared with others it can cause deep embarrassment and distress."
He continued: "Forces are risk assessing every case to ensure we are not unnecessarily stigmatising children and saddling them with a criminal record. But there will always be a criminal investigation where we see that young people are being coerced, exploited or blackmailed.
"I am concerned about the impact that exposure to extreme pornography can have on children so we need to consider if a lack of universal relationship and sex education is compounding the problem.
"There is also undoubtedly more to be done to remove indecent imagery quickly and robustly from across social media platforms once it has been shared or posted without consent."
David Tucker, College of Policing lead from Crime and Criminal Justice, commented: "Today's statistics indicate policing's commitment to recording all cases as crimes and focusing on safeguarding children and young people.
"It is clear that where children and young people are being exploited, forced or coerced into sharing or generating indecent imagery of themselves and/or others, the offenders should be prosecuted.
"Our advice takes into consideration that some young people send each other these types of images not realising they are breaking the law.
"In these circumstances the advice is to consider the long-term impact, and avoid stigmatising or unnecessarily criminalising young people. Police powers, including prosecution, should be used only when necessary and in a proportionate way."
(JP/LM)
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Child Sexting Cases 'Double In Two Years'
New figures have revealed that investigations by police into child sexting cases have more than doubled in two years.Latest data from police forces shows a surge in children sharing or possessing sexual images of themselves or others, with more than 6,200 incidents reported this year – an increase of 131% from 2014/2015.
It is understood police have received reports from children as young as 10, with a peak in cases involving 14-year-olds. Boys are as likely as girls to be recorded as suspects or perpetrators for sexting offences, but girls are more likely to be recorded as victims, suggesting that boys are more likely to share images without consent.
Elsewhere, there appears to be a decrease in the number of sexting offences during the month of August over the last three years, coinciding with school holidays.
Today, 06 November, representatives from police, education, charities and local and national government will meet at a conference in London to discuss the issue and how best to collectively safeguard children.
Initial analysis shows that the number of children facing charges in these cases has more than halved and the new outcome 21 is most commonly used, which enables forces to deal with sexting offences without criminalising children.
Outcome 21 can only be used in cases where there is no evidence of exploitation or malicious intent, and is endorsed by advice from the College of Policing to help officers respond to sexting offences proportionately.
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The advice from the College, as well as separate advice for schools by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, recognises the long-term negative impact of criminalising young people. However, where there are signs of exploitation, forces will carry out a full criminal investigation.
Chief Constable Simon Bailey, National Police Chiefs Council Lead for Child Protection, said: "A third all of child sexual abuse is committed by young people themselves – tackling and preventing it is a significant challenge for both schools and the police.
"Parents, carers and schools have a crucial role to play in talking to children about what a healthy relationship looks like, their boundaries, consent and the ramifications of sharing sexual imagery.
"There is a worrying upward trend in children sharing sexual images, particularly regarding children who pass on indecent images of others.
"Sharing and possessing these images is against the law. Once an image is shared with others it can cause deep embarrassment and distress."
He continued: "Forces are risk assessing every case to ensure we are not unnecessarily stigmatising children and saddling them with a criminal record. But there will always be a criminal investigation where we see that young people are being coerced, exploited or blackmailed.
"I am concerned about the impact that exposure to extreme pornography can have on children so we need to consider if a lack of universal relationship and sex education is compounding the problem.
"There is also undoubtedly more to be done to remove indecent imagery quickly and robustly from across social media platforms once it has been shared or posted without consent."
David Tucker, College of Policing lead from Crime and Criminal Justice, commented: "Today's statistics indicate policing's commitment to recording all cases as crimes and focusing on safeguarding children and young people.
"It is clear that where children and young people are being exploited, forced or coerced into sharing or generating indecent imagery of themselves and/or others, the offenders should be prosecuted.
"Our advice takes into consideration that some young people send each other these types of images not realising they are breaking the law.
"In these circumstances the advice is to consider the long-term impact, and avoid stigmatising or unnecessarily criminalising young people. Police powers, including prosecution, should be used only when necessary and in a proportionate way."
(JP/LM)
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