New crime-busting agency takes no prisoners

A new UK agency has been set up to deal with child pornography and online grooming, with powers to confiscate the assets of offenders.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre went live at midnight and by 8am this morning had already picked up details of online paedophile activity.

"Child sex abuse is one of the worst crimes imaginable," said Home Office Minister Paul Goggins.

"It is a crime from which individual offenders and organised criminal enterprises can and do profit.

"I see the CEOP Centre as a major platform from which we can launch a coordinated effort to stay that vital one step ahead of the criminal."

The new agency will include a 24/7 hotline to report any incidents of online child abuse, constant monitoring of chat rooms to catch groomers in the act and a new agreement with Visa to seize the assets of viewers and providers.

The team will also work with other forces internationally to track down the purveyors of illegal material.

The agency is headed by Jim Gamble, former deputy director general of the National Crime Squad.

"The CEOP Centre is the most significant development in child protection in recent years and is a direct response to the explosion in online child abuse," he said.

"What we have to understand is that behind every image online there is a child in the real world being abused. Behind every online chat there is the potential that your child may be speaking to a sex offender. That is a harsh reality."

The growth in the distribution of child abuse images continues to rise. One operation alone seized over 750,000 images recently, while the latest figures show that over eight million children and young people have access to the internet throughout the UK.

One survey has shown that one in 12 children with internet access have met someone offline who they initially encountered in an online environment.