These days, children, are completely immersed
in the culture of the web. They spend a lot of time gaming, doing
homework, buying goods and chatting to friends online.
Because of their consistent online presence
they are left open to exploitation from criminals.
How you can help reduce the risk
- Try to put the computer in an easy to see place in the home so
that you can monitor what sites your child is
visiting.
- Check out the websites your child is using,
just like you’d check out a school or a youth group they might
visit, have a look and make a judgement whether you think it is a
safe environment for them to be involved in.
- Set up reasonable guidelines and limits for
internet usage, understand that it may be a big part of their life
but that it needs to be regulated
- Explain to your children why it is important
for them never to give out personal details or
post pictures of themselves publicly just like you would when you
explain to them not to talk to strangers.
- Install internet filtering software showing a
Child Safety Online Kitemark on your computer. Filtering products
with a Kitemark have been independently tested to provide a simple
and effective means of support to parents, helping to ensure that a
child’s online experience is a safe one. The Kitemark scheme is
sponsored by the Home
Office and Ofcom.
Follow Ashleigh's rules
The friends of Ashleigh Hall, a young girl who was murdered by a
man who created a fake Facebook account and arranged to meet her,
have launched a campaign highlighting the potential dangers of
the internet by creating a set of rules in the hope that they will
keep young people safe in the future.
Read more about Ashleigh's rules
Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP)
The Child Exploitation and
Online Protection (CEOP) Centre delivers a multi-agency service
dedicated to tackling the exploitation of children. That means
building intelligence around the risks, tracking and bringing
offenders to account either directly or with local and
international police forces and working with children and parents
to deliver our unique ThinkuKnow internet safety programme.
624 children have been safeguarded through the work of CEOP in
the past four years. 1131 arrests have been made and over 260 high
risk sexual offender networks dismantled.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre is
dedicated to eradicating the sexual abuse of children. That means
we are part of UK policing and very much about tracking and
bringing offenders to account either directly or in partnership
with local and international forces.