NSPCC call for action on child abuse in Norfolk and Suffolk
09:58 16 October 2012
A children’s charity called for urgent action yesterday to stamp out child abuse, after figures revealed the scale of the trade in indecent images of children.
In response to a Freedom of Information request, Norfolk Constabulary said 44 people were arrested in 2011 for possessing or distributing indecent images of children, while police in Suffolk made 29 arrests. The request was made by children’s charity the NSPCC who described the number as “appalling”.
Dan Russell, from the NSPCC, said: “The authorities are working hard to clamp down on this, but there are still far too many pictures available. It’s time the government and industry got together to find an answer to this corrosive problem which cannot be allowed to continue.” In one case a Norfolk man was found guilty of possessing 4,000 indecent images of children. Detective Superintendent Katie Elliott, from Norfolk Constabulary, said: “Internet crimes such as these are far from victimless and every image depicts the very real abuse a young child has suffered. We will do everything within our power to protect victims who are subjected to these potentially life-changing acts of indecency purely for the gratification of others.”