Police To Get More Power To Tackle Online Grooming
A law change means police in West Yorkshire can now act faster if they think someone's grooming a child online.
Police in West Yorkshire will soon be able step in quicker if they think someone is grooming a child online. Rotherham MP Sarah Champion has pushed for the law change, which will mean a person only has to contact a child once before officers can arrest them.
Vicky was fifteen when she was asked for sexual photos by someone claiming to run a model agency.
They then blackmailed her for more.
“The fear of knowing that your images could go all over the internet for everybody to see - you’re just terrified, you don’t know what to do,” she says.
“You don’t know whether to sit and cry, whether to run away – you just don’t know what to do with yourself.”
The change in the law will mean police will have the power to make an arrest after just one inappropriate message.
But DCI Sue Jenkinson from the Safeguarding Unit at West Yorkshire Police says they need to be made aware that it's happening:
“The initial problem we have is actually finding out about it. Which is why we really want to put out the plea for parents and carers to look out for what their child or young person is doing online. Until we know about the offence, we can’t start investigating it.
“Some young people who are in the process of being groomed by adults don’t actually realise they’re a victim. They think they’re making friends or forming a relationship with somebody, and it’s real and not exploitative. But in actual fact, that’s exactly what it is.”
Vicky agrees that it’s important to speak out about the issue.
"I want young people to know that if they are going through anything like this, don't be afraid to tell someone,” she says.
“There is always someone there to help, someone you can go to."