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Paedophiles who download images 'won't all be charged' | Paedophiles who download images 'won't all be charged' |
(35 minutes later) | |
Some paedophiles with images of child abuse will escape prosecution, the head of the National Crime Agency says. | Some paedophiles with images of child abuse will escape prosecution, the head of the National Crime Agency says. |
Keith Bristow said police would have to focus on pursuing those who posed most risk but that others would face a "range of interventions". | |
Some 660 arrests were made during a recent operation targeting people who had accessed child abuse images online. | Some 660 arrests were made during a recent operation targeting people who had accessed child abuse images online. |
However, the BBC understands that as many as 20,000-30,000 individuals were identified during that investigation. | However, the BBC understands that as many as 20,000-30,000 individuals were identified during that investigation. |
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) - part of the NCA - has estimated that 50,000 people in the UK are involved in downloading and sharing images of child abuse. | |
Top priority | |
NCA director general Mr Bristow said it was "not realistic" to expect all of them to face prosecution. | NCA director general Mr Bristow said it was "not realistic" to expect all of them to face prosecution. |
"Our responsibility is to focus on the greatest risk and tackle those people," he said. | "Our responsibility is to focus on the greatest risk and tackle those people," he said. |
But Jim Gamble, who resigned as head of Ceop in 2010, said most of those who viewed images would go on to commit a "contact offence" against children and should be pursued. | |
The NCA said in July that the 660 arrests made as part of Operation Notarise included teachers, medical staff, former police officers, a social services worker and a scout leader. | The NCA said in July that the 660 arrests made as part of Operation Notarise included teachers, medical staff, former police officers, a social services worker and a scout leader. |
Some of the suspected paedophiles had terabytes - equivalent to 1,000GB - worth of data on their hard drives or storage devices. | Some of the suspected paedophiles had terabytes - equivalent to 1,000GB - worth of data on their hard drives or storage devices. |
'Horrible criminality' | |
Mr Bristow said every image would be assessed, describing it as "high volume" work that had to be done at pace. | |
"If there are 50,000 people involved in this particularly horrible type of criminality, I don't believe all 50,000 will end up in the criminal justice system," he said at a briefing for journalists. | "If there are 50,000 people involved in this particularly horrible type of criminality, I don't believe all 50,000 will end up in the criminal justice system," he said at a briefing for journalists. |
"It's uncomfortable but we're going to work through it in a logical way, target the most risky first." | |
He said there would be a "range of interventions" which for some of the offenders could fall short of them "standing in a court". | He said there would be a "range of interventions" which for some of the offenders could fall short of them "standing in a court". |
Mr Bristow drew a distinction between "contact abusers" who may have been involved in physical abuse, and those who shared images. | Mr Bristow drew a distinction between "contact abusers" who may have been involved in physical abuse, and those who shared images. |
Society would have to have "deeply uncomfortable conversations" about the scale of child abuse and how to respond to it, Mr Bristow added. | Society would have to have "deeply uncomfortable conversations" about the scale of child abuse and how to respond to it, Mr Bristow added. |
'Would be my priority' | |
But Mr Gamble said: "Are we going to say because there's too many we can't do it? | |
"It's about how you prioritise the resources that you allocate to these problems. | |
"And for me, protecting children from those people who look at images... is key and would be at the top of my priority list." | |
Donald Findlater, from children's charity the Lucy Faith Foundation, said the NCA's "candour" was "desperately important". | Donald Findlater, from children's charity the Lucy Faith Foundation, said the NCA's "candour" was "desperately important". |
But he said police needed to "make a judgement" and "deploy their resources to go for those who are most directly dangerous to children and are most actively sharing online". | But he said police needed to "make a judgement" and "deploy their resources to go for those who are most directly dangerous to children and are most actively sharing online". |
"There is a whole raft of additional people behaving badly online who need to get some kind of a response," he told BBC News. | |
"I think it's important that their behaviour is brought out into the open. | |
"We have been pretending as every other nation in the world is currently pretending that they're on top of this problem online - they are not." | "We have been pretending as every other nation in the world is currently pretending that they're on top of this problem online - they are not." |
Last week Mr Bristow apologised after Ceop sat on information it had about 2,000 British paedophiles for more than a year. | |
Information on the men was sent to UK authorities by Toronto Police in July 2012, as part of an international investigation, Operation Spade, into suspected paedophiles. | Information on the men was sent to UK authorities by Toronto Police in July 2012, as part of an international investigation, Operation Spade, into suspected paedophiles. |
But it was not passed on to police forces until more than 12 months later in November 2013. | But it was not passed on to police forces until more than 12 months later in November 2013. |