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Province continues funding London battle against Internet crimes
Ontario's Attorney General Chris Bentley, MPP London West, announced the continuation of the funding, $157,000 this year for London police, as part of the $2.6 million announced last week for the overall provincial strategy to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation on the Internet. "We're speaking about the most vulnerable in our society – our children," Bentley said in making the announcement. He said the overall provincial funding will help to continue to support undercover officers conducting investigations; assistance for child victims and their families; the coordination, training and assistance of Crown prosecutors to ensure consistency with respect to victim support and prosecution across the province; and to increase the work with other agencies, including law enforcement and organizations such as Child Find Ontario that help with the apprehension of offenders and the assistance of victims. "Our coordinated efforts to fight Internet crime are greatly improving the safety and security of our children," said Bentley. "Our Internet Child Exploitation strategy team's work crosses over provincial and national boundaries, and has identified more than 400 Ontario victims of various forms of sexual abuse and exploitation on the Internet as well as identifying and rescuing 30 victims in other countries." London police Chief Murray Faulkner said the continued support from the provincial government is much needed as the expense to operate investigations, such as those carried out by London's Cyber Crime Unit, are high from a technological perspective. "When we were conducting our business plan for 2009 that we are currently working on…we learned from the citizens of London that the Internet and Internet safety was an important aspect," Faulkner said. In addition to investigating child exploitation crimes on the Internet, the London police have delivered an educational lecture to Grade 6 students in the area. Faulkner said more than 4,000 elementary school students have taken part in that Internet safety program. Detective Sgt., Henry Pateman with the London police Sexual Assault Section said the most challenging aspect for police in relation to crimes on the Internet is the scope of the investigations. "The idea that you can start an investigation that appears to be in London and before you know it you're halfway around the world," Pateman said. "With the advent of technology you could be speaking with someone and it's so instantaneous that they could be right next door – they literally could be right next door." In the past, he continued, London police have began investigations that appeared to be centred in London, but ended up with the focus in foreign countries – the U.S., Europe and Africa, to name a few. The funding, Pateman said, "certainly allows us to continue the fight. Without the funding from the province, without the support from our community, it would be difficult for us to continue this." At a provincial level, the strategy utilizes a unified team approach to investigating and prosecuting sexual abuse and exploitation of children on the Internet and providing services to victims. It involves the OPP, eighteen municipal and regional police services, Crown prosecutors, the Ontario Victim Services Secretariat and community victim service providers. The strategy includes an undercover team of police officers to conduct Internet child luring investigations and more support for child victims and their families. Across Ontario in 2007 and 2008, 250 people have been arrested on 793 charges for sexual abuse and exploitation of children on the Internet. Over the past year the provincial strategy has completed 2,120 investigations – a 91 per cent increase over previous years. Since 2006 Ontario has invested $7.6 million in the provincial strategy. |
| I am so glad they have caught all of these creepy internet crawlers -- The internet WAS NOT created for the sick-minded.....It's amazing how criminals can take something so amazing as the internet and turn into something dirty for their own sick minds. The internet is not going away --- we ALL need to protect and educate....EVERYONE...onhow to stay safe on the information highway..... |
| By: pessy on 11/30/2008 |
| We need stronger definitions of what constitutes child pornography rather than the broad definition we currently carry. Many girls and boys under the age of 18 make poor choices about their health, their sexual relationships and their actions (including taking naughty pictures of themselves or their boyfriends/girlfriends). We need to remember as a society to remain compassionate to the needs and mistakes of our non violent criminal offenders and youth. From reading the vague descriptions given by the London Police, we don't know whether these offenders were violent predators, or 18 year olds with younger girlfriends and a cell phone camera. |
| By: Ustyis R Deyow on 11/30/2008 |
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