By John Leyden for The Register.
This story has been reproduced with permission.
The information-sharing system has already assisted in two
investigations into suspect paedophiles and will help improve
detection rates, according to Jim Gamble, chief executive of the
UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.
The Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS) is being put
through its paces by three police forces in England and Wales as
well as a region in Scotland. If successful, it's hoped the
technology may be rolled out across the UK, giving police access to
a database on child sex offenders.
Early results have being positive. The system helped forces to
compare notes on a suspect investigators reckon has been grooming
around 150 children online. It also helped police identify a
paedophile who was using the pretext of sharing photos online to
lure children into abuse over the last 10 years.
CEOP said the technology is a timely addition to police
investigative tools at a time when online grooming is on the
increase.
"In the past, police officers simply didn't understand the
internet. It was like a labyrinth to them," Gamble said, the BBC
reports. "But
we are now upstream of (online paedophiles) and waiting for their
next move."
In other online child abuse news, US investigators arrested 125
people from across the country over allegations they downloaded
videos and images of chid abuse from a paedophile website. Suspects
include police officers, high school teachers, and a federal border
patrol agent, Reuters reports.
Some of those arrested have previous convictions for child sex
offences. The arrests came as a result of "Operation Emissary",
which involved the execution of 225 search warrants.
© The Register
2006
