Sandra Dick: Facing up to risks of an online sensation

FOR many, cyberspace is where boy meets girl, dates are organised and, for some, real romance can blossom. While bona fide "paid-for" internet dating agencies offer a degree of scrutiny over their members, Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and dozens of other networking sites take their members at face value.

The profile picture, name and the "about me" blurb can, in fact, be utter fiction – sometimes with criminal intent.

The sickening "Facebook murder" of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall in Darlington has brought the issue sharply into focus.

Ashleigh was 17, a trainee nursery nurse but impressionable, with little experience of the opposite sex, which left her dangerously open to the flattering chat from a 19-year-old Facebook "friend" called Peter Cartwright. His profile picture showed a bare chested young man with Tom Cruise looks. In fact "DJPete" was bald, bespectacled 33-year-old double rapist Peter Chapman.

Tragically, Ashleigh fell for his smooth online chat and willingly took up the offer to meet.

But this was a first date with death, which ended with Ashleigh's lifeless body dumped in a ditch. Today Chapman – a registered sex offender who fell off the police radar for more than a year after his risk level was downgraded – is starting a jail term of at least 35 years for his victim's kidnap, rape and murder.

Ashleigh was not the first to fall for these social network predators. She almost certainly won't be the last. So the question then is: what on earth can be done to protect such young people?

Facebook – where Chapman preyed on Ashleigh – has stood accused of failing to protect young British users from the threat posed by predatory paedophiles by refusing to display an official "panic button" on its webpages which would enable them to report potential abuse straight to Ceop, the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

The button, which is displayed by dozens of other sites, can, say Ceop officials, act as a deterrent to paedophiles in the same way as a burglar alarm can scare off burglars.

Facebook, however, says it has yet to see proof it helps tackle the problem. And the site's spokeswoman has insisted that the site remains "one of the safest" places on the web.

As for the police, they have launched Operation Alba, a nationwide operation involving the eight Scottish police forces, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), Crown Office and Ceop. Its purpose is to ensure offenders are identified, enforcement action taken and children at risk rescued from harm.

Lothian and Borders Police Assistant Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, who holds the Public Protection portfolio for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos), says: "Officers use intelligence and investigation techniques, including existing and emerging technology, to detect those involved in online child abuse and bring them to justice. We are turning a corner in dealing with this kind of crime in Scotland and we will be proactive in our approach.

"It is imperative that police continue to liaise closely with partner agencies and our local communities to drive home the message of internet safety and be aware of the people our children may be coming into contact with while online."

As for concerned parents, walking the tightrope of their teenagers' mood swings, finely balanced between protecting them and allowing them their freedom, what can they do to make sure their daughter does not become the next Ashleigh?

Some might opt for a spy program like CyberSentinel, which monitors children's web activity and sends e-mails and text messages to parents, flagging up inappropriate websites they have visited or patterns in their behaviour.

According to Tom Roberts, head of public affairs at Children 1st: "There's a general assumption that teenagers are fairly savvy when it comes to social networking but it really depends on the individual.

"Our advice to parents would be to have an open discussion with their teenagers about social networking and reinforce three key things – don't give out personal information, don't allow anyone access to your network who you don't know and never meet anyone in person that you've met online.

"Some parents may also find it useful to join social networking sites themselves so they can engage with their children more effectively on this issue."

Meanwhile Andrea Hall, grieving for her lost daughter, makes this heartfelt plea: "Parents – ask your kids to tell who you they are talking to online. Ashleigh wasn't a bad kid. She wasn't naughty. She made one mistake and has paid for it with her life.

"She just literally thought he was a 17, 18-year-old boy. We'd all think that at 17. It's far too easy."