Parents urged to spy on children's web chats

POLICE want parents to spy on their children online to protect them from the growing threat of internet predators who target vulnerable youngsters.

The Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) is becoming increasingly concerned about the threat paedophiles pose to a generation that does so much socialising online.

Since setting up Operation Embark to tackle the problem two years ago, 18 people have been convicted of online grooming and sentenced to a combined 24 years in prison, 23 years of probation, and 840 hours of community service.

Police see it as a growing threat and want children, and their parents, to take a similar attitude to hidden dangers on the web as they would to those they face in real life.

In particular, they are encouraging parents to buy technology that would allow them to check what sites children have visited, who they have talked to, and what they have talked about.

Detective Inspector Eamonn Keane, who heads the SCDEA's e-crime unit, said: "There's various software to assist parents in helping them keep their children safe on the internet, which can help identify their computer history.

"You can set your governance tools to search for key words, so if there's been sexually explicit behaviour from a 13 or 14-year-old it would pick up on that. You can apply parental controls on the internet in the same way as you can on digital TV channels, blocking unsuitable websites."

Police want parents to be informal friends and confidants of their children on the web, but accept this will not always be possible. "Would your daughter accept you as a friend on Facebook?" DI Keane said. "I would always encourage that, but it depends on the relationship you have."

The SCDEA works with Scotland's eight police forces, and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre, to deliver safety messages to parents and youngsters. That includes going to schools and talks and advising people on the dangers out there and what is available to help them.

A lot of parents struggle to keep up with their teenage children's understanding of technology and would be unable to check up on them even if they tried.

DI Keane said: "Part of our message is about the delivery of these resources for parents.

"We show parents how to be competent enough in ICT and make sure they are aware of the technology available."