Goggins - There is no shortfall in online child protection funding

Tuesday, 2 November 2004 12:00 AM

The Government has sharply rejected suggestions that it has not provided sufficient funding for the fight against child pornography and abuse.

Speaking on Tuesday morning, Home Office Minister Paul Goggins said he was "surprised" at the criticism from a coalition of children's charities and the Association of Chief Police Officers.

His comments come after the Children's Charities Coalition for Internet Safety (CHIS) issued a report claiming that police lack the funds to catch Internet paedophiles and protect victims. It is calling for a "huge" increase in funding and for the establishment of an internet 999 service so that people can instantly report online crime.

Mr Goggins said today: "I am surprised that the children's charities and ACPO can make these claims. We had a very constructive meeting of the Child Internet Protection taskforce only last week and everyone seemed content with the progress we are making.

"This Government could not have worked more closely with children's charities and the police over the last four years to target internet crime against children and update the law to reflect the new types of child internet abuse."

He insisted that the "police service is not short of money" highlighting a general increase in funding, as well as the establishment of the National High Tech Crime Unit and £500,000 in dedicated funding for Operation Ore.

The Minister said that he would look at the case for a reorganisation of police resources, but warned that he would need to see results. Mr Goggins said: "Before the Government considers any extra money for the police, we need to see an improvement in performance. Two years ago, we were told that without extra money the 6000 suspects from Operation Ore could not be investigated. We provided extra funding yet less than a quarter of these suspects were ever charged."

The CHIS claims that police resources are inadequate, and paedophiles are escaping capture due to lack of resources and a lack of equipment. It is also calling on the Government to change the law so that advising on how to abuse a child becomes an offence.

Spokesman John Carr said: "Enormous strides have been made to tackle crimes against children on the internet. But there is still much work to be done. What's more, the victims of these horrendous crimes - the children themselves - are so often not being found and helped. This should be at the top of everybody's agenda.

"As the general election approaches, the children's charities are demanding that policing of the internet is made a significantly bigger priority. Vital changes in the law must also be made to make cyberspace as safe as possible for our children."

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