Commissioner helps to keep child exploitation in the spotlight

Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner Sir Graham Bright today (Friday, January 9) voiced his support for a national internet safety campaign aimed at safeguarding children when online.

The NSPCC’s ShareAware initiative has been designed to give parents more information about their child’s likely internet use to help them understand the risks. It concentrates specifically on children aged between eight and 12 as this is the period when children begin to become more independent in their internet use and use a broader range of devices.

Through the publication of a new booklet, the NSPCC gives practical tips to help parents and carers initiate conversations about their child’s internet use and to give them the tools needed to keep safe online.

Sir Graham remains committed to increasing the protection of young people in the face of growing risks of child sex exploitation. This week, the Force launched a new campaign in conjunction with the Cambridge and Peterborough Local Safeguarding Children’s Board and the NSPCC to educate people to spot the signs of sexual exploitation so that they can make informed decisions about relationships.

Commenting on the NSPCC’s ShareAware initiative, Sir Graham said: “As technology advances, the way in which criminals target young people changes and we are continually witnessing new threats to our children’s safety, including the internet and social media.

“These criminals use technology to hide their true identities which makes their offending more difficult to detect. One of the ways we can safeguard our children is to educate them to spot the dangers and empower parents to take a more proactive role in their child’s internet safety.

“Internet safety is a major concern for parents today. I strongly support this campaign and urge parents of children within this age group to use these new resources to enable them to deal more confidently with the issue of internet safety at home.”

The campaign provides parents’ with access to a host of new advice tools, including NetAware, a simple NSPCC guide to the social networks, websites and apps children use

A downloadable guide and hard copy booklet has also been produced containing top tips for keeping children safe online as well as advice on conversation starters to help parents have conversations with their children.

One of the main aims of the campaign is to encourage parents to have conversations with their children at a young age about their internet use as this the time when preventative messages are much more likely to be accepted and taken on-board.

For more information, visit www.nspcc.org.uk/shareaware. Ends Media Contact:  Sallie Blair – 01283 821012