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'Action not jail' for paedophiles | 'Action not jail' for paedophiles |
(20 minutes later) | |
Child sex offenders should be encouraged to seek treatment rather than be threatened with jail, the police's child protection chief says. | Child sex offenders should be encouraged to seek treatment rather than be threatened with jail, the police's child protection chief says. |
Jim Gamble, of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), said it was a practical way of dealing with the huge scale of the problem. | |
He believes that treating some paedophiles in the community is a sensible way of reducing harm. | He believes that treating some paedophiles in the community is a sensible way of reducing harm. |
The CEOP was launched in April 2006 to tackle child sex abuse in the UK. | The CEOP was launched in April 2006 to tackle child sex abuse in the UK. |
We shouldn't be sending everyone that ever commits an offence - particularly of the viewing kind - to prison Jim Gamble, CEOP Men 'avoid volunteering' | We shouldn't be sending everyone that ever commits an offence - particularly of the viewing kind - to prison Jim Gamble, CEOP Men 'avoid volunteering' |
Mr Gamble said the information flow on paedophilia had increased since the CEOP was established a year ago. | Mr Gamble said the information flow on paedophilia had increased since the CEOP was established a year ago. |
In order to deal with the scale of the problem, some offenders should receive a police caution and then be managed within the community - not by resorting to jail terms, he said. | In order to deal with the scale of the problem, some offenders should receive a police caution and then be managed within the community - not by resorting to jail terms, he said. |
"We shouldn't be sending everyone that ever commits an offence - particularly of the viewing kind - to prison. | "We shouldn't be sending everyone that ever commits an offence - particularly of the viewing kind - to prison. |
"There are people who have been dealt with by police caution who can be dealt with successfully in a way that allows them to maintain their lives and their families." | "There are people who have been dealt with by police caution who can be dealt with successfully in a way that allows them to maintain their lives and their families." |
Mr Gamble said he was not referring to paedophiles who committed violent offences like the brutal rape of a child, but he insisted that some offenders "at the beginning of the spread of abuse may benefit from a police caution and can be managed". | |
They are just as guilty as the person taking the photos. If they did not view the child would not be abused, therefore I think these people deserve prison Michele Elliot, Kidscape | |
He said: "In order to make a meaningful difference here, I'm absolutely positive that we need to engage with the predator in a way that we perhaps haven't before. | |
"We've got to create an active and real deterrent that diverts them from committing this offence before they do, and that's something that we're really focused on. | |
"If you're an offender, our message to you today has developed to a stage whereby we're saying 'for goodness' sake, go and get help before you get caught'." | |
'Full-stop' campaign | |
The BBC's home editor, Mark Easton, said this was not the usual hardline message from police. | |
He said Mr Gamble recognised that the criminal justice system could not cope with the scale of the problem and therefore non-custodial solutions were also needed. | |
But Michele Elliot, director of Kidscape, said people who view child pornography should not escape jail. | But Michele Elliot, director of Kidscape, said people who view child pornography should not escape jail. |
"They are just as guilty as the person taking the photos. If they did not view the child would not be abused, therefore I think these people deserve prison," she said. | "They are just as guilty as the person taking the photos. If they did not view the child would not be abused, therefore I think these people deserve prison," she said. |
Research by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) found that 16% of women and 7% of men claimed to have been sexually abused involving physical contact before the age of 12. That suggests that one in nine pre-teenage children has suffered abuse. | Research by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) found that 16% of women and 7% of men claimed to have been sexually abused involving physical contact before the age of 12. That suggests that one in nine pre-teenage children has suffered abuse. |
The research helped to launch the charity's "full-stop" campaign to counter child abuse. | The research helped to launch the charity's "full-stop" campaign to counter child abuse. |