THE rise of online paedophile activity has continued in recent years from offenders downloading and sharing indecent images to child grooming.

Eight years ago Dorset Police set up the Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT).

Since then, the team of officers has worked to protect youngsters and prevent child abuse as a top priority.

Alongside this, the efforts of the POLIT have led to scores of criminals ending up in court and being punished for their crimes.

Recent months have seen a number of indecent child image offenders dealt with by the justice system.

To find out more about the policing behind these convictions, the Daily Echo has spoken in depth with Detective Sergeant Paul Chessell, of the Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT).

Demand only going to increase

DS Chessell said his team "worked in the shadows" and while no one wished the unit had to exist, unfortunately their task is only going to get busier in the months and years ahead.

He said the past year has seen an increase in suspicious activity online both in Dorset and nationally.

The POLIT has "flags" on around 10 online chat platforms which are often being exploited by paedophiles.

Asked for his message to people who are concerned about online child abuse, DS Chessell said parents speaking with their kids is vital.

"If there is a message to get out there, it is have good communication with your children," said DS Chessell.

"Online, understand what they are doing and where they are going to and instil it from a really early age.

"Parental controls - have an idea certainly with your under 10s because that is a worrying trend we are finding.

"Under 10s are getting more and more involved in this (online platforms) and parents should know better really, they should understand.

"Facebook should be (aged) 13 before you have your own account and we are getting it lower and lower.

"Better understanding from parents. Don't be afraid to come to us if you think there is something wrong because even if it is a uniformed police officer, they will then put them across to us in the more specialist teams and we can then look to ensure the child is being looked after."

The areas of concern

Alongside the overall aim of protecting children from abuse and catching paedophiles, DS Chessell said the risks posed by the dark web and the use of online 'clouds' are being examined closely as a priority.

The detective said the behaviour of paedophiles, with the platform of the internet, has changed considerably from previous generations.

He described the current landscape as the "digital wide west" with legislation struggling to keep up with online functionality.

"We are finding if they hide it in the cloud, it is far easier for them to dispose of," said DS Chessell.

"You can be in a station, be interviewed, get out, have access to your cloud account and delete it and we will never know, so we are progressing more into that aspect of it now."

Dealing with data, data and more data

When an offender guilty of indecent image offences faces justice in the courts, it is now common for several years to have gone by since they had their home searched and electrical items seized.

While the criminal courts in general are facing a hefty backlog for a multitude of reasons, only worsened by the pandemic, the forensic examinations required in child abuse photograph and video investigations adds to the process.

And the officer admitted this is something that is difficult to explain to the public.

"Our part is quite quick," said DS Chessell. "We could get a referral in today, I could have my team mobilised and we could be out the door in 10 minutes.

"We are county wide, but if it is close in Bournemouth we are there within the hour, they are arrested, items seized. That's the easy bit.

"It is the examinations which do tend to take a while. That's been an issue for us."

There is a range of online resources available for anyone with concerns about child abuse.

  • Dorset Police: call 101. Always dial 999 if an emergency.
  • Local Authority Children’s Social Care - BCP Council: 01202 735046. Dorset Council: 01305 228866
  • NSPCC: 0808 800 5000, help@nspcc.org.uk
  • ChildLine (for children and young people to call): 0800 11 11
  • Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre. www.ceop.police.uk
  • CEOP resources suitable for parents and children of different ages: thinkuknow.co.uk
  • For adults who are concerned about their behaviour: 0808 1000 900 stopitnow.org.uk

If you are interested in court and crime news, you might be interested in joining our dedicated Facebook group, which provides updates from across the county. To find out more, click here.