Groups of vigilantes are incorrectly identifying individuals who are then attacked, wrongly accused on even taking their own lives, states Simon Bailey, head of child protections at the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
He has ruled out working with such groups even though evidence from them is increasingly being used to prosecute suspects.
Mr Bailey states that they are destroying people’s live in the name of Facebook likes and that their evidence and work can impede and slow down Police investigations and evidence and are taking unnecessary risks.
He admitted that they have led to convictions, however, also stated that they had led to individuals being blackmailed, assaulted and committing suicide, without actually being convicted of an offence.
Simon Bailey is the Chief Constable of Norfolk Police and said that a referral from a paedophile hunting group could take as much time for Police to investigate as could be spent in identifying half a dozen offenders.
Whilst his aim is to safeguard children, he claims that many of the groups are being driven to identify as many people as possible in order to seek fame and increase their social media reach and popularity.
He also stated that social media companies were not doing enough to protect children from abuse and that the number of images contained on the national child abuse database had increased from less than 10,000 in the 90’s to more than 13,400,000 currently.
His recent comments show a change in thinking from what he stated in 2017, where he was quoted as suggesting that working with such vigilante groups was something for Police to consider.
About Athena Forensics
For information on our digital forensic services or if you require any advice or assistance please contact a member of our team on 0845 882 7386 or via email on enquiries@athenaforensics.co.uk, further details are available on our contact us page.
Our client’s confidentiality is of the utmost importance. All correspondence is treated with discretion, from initial contact to the conclusion of any computer forensics investigation.
Our digital forensics experts are fully aware of the significance and importance of the information that they encounter and we have been accredited to ISO 9001 for 10 years.
Our forensic experts are all security cleared and we offer non-disclosure agreements if required. Our premises along with our security procedures have been inspected and approved by law enforcement agencies.
Athena Forensics do not disclose personal information to other companies or suppliers.
https://athenaforensics.co.uk/service/mobile-phone-forensic-experts/
https://athenaforensics.co.uk/service/computer-forensic-experts/