Police officers feel poorly equipped to investigate internet sex crimes against children, a report written for the public inquiry into child abuse says.
The study found that officers of all ranks in all parts of the country believed that they were not well trained in how to investigate sex offences such as online grooming of children.
The report was written by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and has been published before evidence sessions examining online abuse.
The inquiry, chaired by Alexis Jay, will hear this week from Lorin LaFave, whose son, Breck Bednar, 14, was murdered in 2013 by Lewis Daynes, then 19, who groomed him online.
Police witnesses, who will face questions about the ability of forces to combat internet abuse, will include Simon Bailey, who speaks for the National Police Chiefs’ Council on child protection, and Commander Richard Smith, Scotland Yard’s head of safeguarding.
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The study examined the characteristics of online abusers, concluding that offenders spent long hours looking for victims who tended to be vulnerable teenagers. The offenders were “often young, white men with no previous convictions [who] rely on making the victim feel important, cared-for and trusted to manipulate their victims — positive emotions which vulnerable teenagers may perceive to be lacking in their real-life interactions”. The report says that many did not go on to abuse children offline.
It says that many police officers have tried to investigate online offences. It adds: “Many felt ill-equipped to deal with the case appropriately and reported that the investigative training they had received was insufficient. Only groups of specially trained officers, such as those working in high-tech crime units, felt well prepared to pursue these investigations”.
Recommendations for improvement “included introducing police officer secondments with technology firms to better understand user behaviour online, dedicated IT specialists from technology firms working with police forces and improved training across cybercrime and evidence collection”.
Jeffrey DeMarco, a research director at NatCen, said: “What really stands out is that by creating an open dialogue with their child, parents can help to prevent them turning to strangers online for reassurance. As new technology and platforms become the norm, everyone involved with safeguarding children, from parents to police to internet service providers, needs to ensure their knowledge is up-to-date and relevant.”