Kids can contact a cop with one click

An educational drive has been launched with the aim of protecting both children today and future generations from being groomed online.

The countrywide Thinkuknow campaign, being co-ordinated by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), not only gives youngsters guidance but it also provides a virtual police service they can turn to if they feel vulnerable.

CEOP is the UK's dedicated law enforcement agency set up to help stamp out child sex abuse. However, as the battle against such abuse gathers pace, Jim Gamble, the organisation's chief executive, was keen to point out that the aim of the programme is not to demonise the internet.

When asked if current fears about paedophiles online was the 21st century's equivalent of a witch-hunt, he said the police and authorities didn't want to paint the internet as a dangerous place. The idea is to empower youngsters on better and safer ways to use the web, he explained.

He said: "We don't want to scaremonger because the internet is not infested with paedophiles and no one should think that. Predators have always been there; think about that strange man lurking at the school gate."

But he pointed out that more youngsters are using the internet to form social groups and will also continue to push the boundaries.

"With online social networking sites, instant messaging and chat rooms, youngsters tend to unknowingly get involved in high-risk behaviour online, such as giving away too much personal information.

"Paedophiles are very clever at using this information to target a youngster by pretending to be the same age and to have the same interests," he said.

"This allows paedophiles to set up multiple personalities, increasing the risk that they may successfully groom a child."

CEOP sifts through thousands of abuse reports each month. While only four or five of these may give real cause for concern, one in 12 youngsters now make arrangements to go out alone to meet someone they have bonded with online.

The agency, therefore, wants to show youngsters how they can have fun but stay in control and be safe at the same time. Gamble said: "We have to be realistic, the internet will not go away and is integral to young people's lives and will remain so when they become working adults."

The campaign will be delivered by police, child protection specialists, social services and teachers. It has also had significant input from a panel of 60 youngsters, who form CEOP's Youth Panel.

Interactive packages and the CEOP website, backed up with graphic videos showing how easy it is for a youngster to fall prey to a paedophile online, will give teachers, parents and young people guidance on staying safe online.

The campaign will be rolled out region by region, and it is intended that around one million children will have attended specially prepared safety first sessions by March 2007, backed up by online resources.

Subsequent phases will roll out on an ongoing basis.

CEOP has also had backing from major companies such as Microsoft, social networking site Bebo and Volkswagen.

Microsoft has added a report abuse button to its MSN Live instant messaging service that enables young people to report inappropriate behaviour to CEOP. Bebo will provide a similar function, and Volkswagen has provided two nine-seater vehicles for the campaign.

CEOP hopes other sites, such as MySpace, will follow suit. However, earlier this month Gamble warned CEOP would not hesitate to name and shame and even take legal action against websites that are " obstructive or unhelpful".

He said: "This campaign will save children from abuse, and the safety skills and means of recognising abusers this generation of youngsters learns will make the internet a safer place for the next generations."

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