'Game changing' £30m boost for Scots data experts to tackle online child sex abuse

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scots experts working to combat online child sex abuse are set to get a "game changing" cash injection of £30million. Crime fighting body INTERPOL said the private funding deal will equip frontline police with skills and data to more quickly rescue children at risk of abuse and help catch more perpetrators.The funding from the Human Dignity Foundation (HDF) and Edinburgh-based Childlight Global Child Safety Institute will be matched by INTERPOL, as threats to children escalate year on year.

It comes after research from Childlight published last month revealing the lives of more than 300 million young people each year are blighted by online sexual exploitation and abuse - with reports of offences logged once every second.In Scotland 1,928 online child sexual abuse crimes were recorded in 2022/2023, an increase of 6.6% on the five year average.

The National Crime Agency said it's expected to increase again in 2024.Dedicated online CSA enforcement teams with Digital Forensic and Intelligence Support were set up by Police Scotland in 2020 in response to rising child sexual abuse crimes.

But crime fighting body INTERPOL said a lack of training and resources can mean police investigators in less than half of the 196 INTERPOL member countries currently act on data contained in its International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) image and video database.The database, which holds more than 4.9 million images and videos and connects 68 countries, has helped identify more than 37,900 victims worldwide – at a rate of 15 identifications every day.