Five NI children a week targeted by online sex offenders as cases soar by 90%

Children in Northern Ireland are being increasingly targeted online by sex offenders – with an average of five cases per week recorded by the PSNI last year.
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In 2019/20, a total of 265 recorded sexual offences against children were ‘flagged’ by the PSNI as having an online element, representing an increase of over 90% in five years from 138 offences in 2015/16.

Figures from the PSNI obtained by NSPCC Northern Ireland reveal that in 2019/2020, there were 2,082 recorded offences against children under 18 years of age.

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Police forces across the UK logged more than 10,000 online child sex offences in 12 months for the first time last year, the charity said.

The NSPCC has said that online abuse is on the rise in NIThe NSPCC has said that online abuse is on the rise in NI
The NSPCC has said that online abuse is on the rise in NI

Data obtained by the NSPCC reveals 10,391 crimes were recorded by all 46 police forces across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands for 2019/20.

UK-wide offences increased by 16% from the previous year where data from police forces is available and includes crimes that had a cyber element such as grooming, sexual assault and rape.

That takes the total number of recorded offences in the five years since it became mandatory to record whether a crime involved the internet to more than 37,000.

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However, the NSPCC said this figure is likely to significantly understate the true extent of the problem due to potential under-recording by police forces of the role of the internet and variation in the way forces log these crimes.

While the Freedom of Information data does not include the lockdown period, risks to children online increased and Childline counselling sessions on grooming went up, the charity said.

The charity said this highlights the urgent need for the UK Government to push forward with the Online Harms Bill, which would place a legal Duty of Care on tech firms to protect children, enforced by an independent regulator.

The NSPCC is calling on the UK Government to publish its final plans before the end of the year, and get an Online Harms Bill on the statute book by the end of 2021.

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Natalie Whelehan, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at NSPCC Northern Ireland, said: “These figures suggest that online abuse was already rising before lockdown, and the risks to children appear to have spiked significantly since.

“It is now almost 17 months since the UK Government’s original proposals for social media regulation were published and children continue to face preventable harm online.

“The Prime Minister needs to prioritise making progress on a comprehensive Online Harms Bill and pass legislation by the end of 2021.”