Concern Over North East Paedophile Naming Webpage
There’s some concern over a web page that is listing paedophiles and suspected paedophiles in the North East.
There’s some concern over a web page that is listing paedophiles and suspected paedophiles in the North East.
A webpage that is publishing the names and conviction details of sex offenders is causing concern among police and child protection officials.
It also goes a step further and names people who they suspect are paedophiles.
The webpage was also started earlier this month and has more than 700 members.
The NSPCC told us it is worrying, Jon Brown is Head of Sexual Abuse services he said: “Whilst we understand people’s motivations for wanting to do that to protect children, it can be quite counter-productive.
“It can actually have the effect of driving offenders underground, thus increasing their risk.”
We contacted all the police forces in our region.
Detective Superintendent Lisa Orchard from Northumbria Police said: "Cases involving child sex abuse are extremely serious and have a huge emotional impact not only on the victims, but on whole families, and the communities in which they take place. We understand the desire to protect children but any member of the public who has information about child sexual abuse, online or otherwise, should get in contact with the police so we can investigate and bring people to justice.
"We have specialist officers who are trained to investigate sexual offences and there are many risks with vigilante groups carrying out their own 'investigations'.
"Their actions can jeopardise ongoing police investigations, they have no way of safeguarding child victims and they can also lead to the diverting of significant resources into protecting suspects, which would be better invested in investigating and prosecuting suspected offenders.”
Durham Police gave us this statement: “People in County Durham and Darlington can be reassured that individuals on the sex offenders' register, released from prison into the community, are effectively monitored and managed by a dedicated team of public protection officers."
Cleveland Police have yet to comment.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) agrees with what the police forces have told us.
Their National Policing Lead on Child Abuse Investigation Chief Constable Simon Bailey added: “Revealing the identity of suspected paedophiles gives the suspect the opportunity to destroy evidence before the police can investigate them.”
He also said: “There is also the risk of wrongly accusing someone; if someone is wrongly accused of being a paedophile in a hugely public was that makes people who live with them, live near them, work with them assume they have committed the offence. The temptation to kill themselves may be just as great even in they are innocent; that is an appalling consequence to contemplate.”
The people behind the webpage say it's not a vigilante group.
They claim to be more about public information.
If you have concerns about online grooming, they should report them to their local police, to CEOP, or to Crimestoppers.
If you think a child is at immediate risk of harm call 999.