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Thursday, 15 October 2015 - 14:33
Europe police gather in Hague to fight child porn, sex tourism
Representatives of 20 police forces in EU countries gathered in The Hague between October 12th and 14th for a conference on the fight against child pornography and child sex tourism. During the conference, Europol and specialists working in these fields worked together to launch digital tools to aid in the fight against these crimes.
These tools included software designed to help investigative services better fight child pornography on an international level. One of these tools is Kent Internet Risk Assessment, a science based program that helps investigators estimate the risk of a suspect in child pornography cases also actually abusing a child.
KIRAT was developed by the police in Kent, England and the University of Liverpool. All Dutch teams in the division Combating Child Pornography and Child Sex Tourism have already been using KIRAT for some time.
"We have been working closely with the police in Kent for two years, We started a pilot with KIRAT in Rotterdam in 2013", said Peter Reijnders of the national program ethics, child pornography and child sex tourism at the conference. "KIRAT has proved a valuable tool. During this conference we have the opportunity to share experiences and knowledge with other users in order to intensify the fight against child pornography on an international level."
"The internet has no boundaries. It is therefore logical that police forces cooperate internationally to detect and track pedophiles." said Tim Smith, chief detective in Kent. "If all EU members are using the same programs, we are more effective in identifying possible offenders and assessing the risk they pose to children. It is very rewarding to be working with more and more countries to protect vulnerable children."
The conference was organized by Fighting International Internet Pedophilia, a partnership between the police in Kent, the Dutch police, the Catalonian police, the police and coastguard in Estonia and the universities of Liverpool, Dublin and Barcelona.
