The Abusive Images Unit of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and
the Child Protection and Investigation Unit of the Hertfordshire
Constabulary drove the six month investigation, dubbed Operation
Magenta. Thirty five forces in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland
and Wales were involved in the simultaneous execution of 75
warrants under the Protection of Children Act, at 7am on Wednesday.
The number of arrests could increase after the examination of
computer equipment seized during the raids.
Using software produced by SurfControl, the web and e-mail
filtering company, GMP and Hertfordshire Constabulary officers were
able to target people in the UK who posses and distribute indecent
images of children via the internet.
Inspector Keith Tilley, Head of Hertfordshire Constabulary's
Child Protection and Investigation Unit, said:
"Today's nation wide operation should send
out a loud message to those people who use chat rooms to trade in
indecent images of children. This activity is unlawful and is
committed by people who often go on to commit further offences of
abuse against vulnerable children. Hertfordshire, along with other
forces, will continue to work to identify and track down those
individuals who believe the internet gives them anonymity to
continue their trade in abusive images of children. This is not the
case and further operations like today's will take place in the
future."
SurfControl’s software facilitates the tracking and tracing of
illegal and threatening activity in chat rooms. The company said
that this will shortly be made available to police forces across
the UK.
