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Scotland
Yard clamping down on Internet Paedophile Networks.
WARRANTS
for more than 45 homes in the UK were served this week to suspects as part of a crack down on Child Internet pornography and similar websites.
Arrests were made on December 17 in which Operation Ore, an investigation into people suspected of child-pornography. Police successfully concluded several weeks of examination of leads given by the Met office in which some 35 people have been detained.
Following many weeks of intelligence in co-operation with United States enforcement agencies. Police officers entered addresses across the UK seizing computer equipment and other evidence. These latest arrests, searches and seizures, follow on from checks made on a regular basis by Child Protection Officers within Scotland Yard.
A statement from Scotland Yard said:- “Our priority is to identify those persons and suspects on the list that pose the greatest threat to children and deal with them appropriately. This process is ongoing and has already resulted in a significant number of arrests.”
Operation Ore is a nation-wide investigation in response to information supplied by US law enforcement to UK police about a large number of suspected users of paid-for child pornography sites. Criminals who are caught with such material in the UK are given a stiff 5-year sentence and then enlisted on to the Sex offender’s registry.
The success rate of the Met Office Serious Crime Group has often been questioned due to their problematic nature with monitoring and implementation of arrests, due to large numbers of pornographic Spam-mail received through emails and the Internet.
However with the development of computer forensic capabilities and international co-operation, the Met office has dramatically increased the number of arrests - Including in more recent times singer Paul Gadd better known as Gary Glitter.
With these latest arrests, the welfare needs of any children found to be at risk in current searches by the Met are seen as ‘high priority’ within Scotland Yard. As potential paedophile activity is seen as a potential hazard not only for the damage it causes to society. Also preventing possible criminal activity in a global effort to safeguard children from possible attack.
An NSPCC Specialist Investigations Team’s (SIT) co-operation was sought throughout these latest arrests upon this recent case of paedophile activity. Its involvement with Scotland Yard is purely an advisory role, which leads to the offer support to families and victims of such crime.
Interpol:-
011-33-1-4312-2222
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WALKING CLUB LOOKS FORWARD TO 25TH ANNIVERSARY
RANGE High School Walking Club is looking forward to their 25th anniversary in November 2003. The club was formally established in November 1978 by parents and staff of the school, after the popularity of earlier informal walks, to provide guided walks for children, their parents, and staff at Range High School.
The club has walked every month (except Augusts when the school is closed) since its inception, with the exception of Feb, March and April 2001 when foot and mouth disease closed much of the countryside. On no occasion have walks been cancelled due to bad weather although a small number have been modified on the day for safety reasons.
Always on a Sunday each month four walks of different lengths are provided to suit all capabilities. The lengths will vary depending upon the physical nature of the terrain, the greater the amount of climbing (the ascent) the shorter the distance.
All walks are reconnoitred by walk leaders beforehand to ensure that the chosen paths are open and hazard free. The club has been praised for the
organization that goes into each series of walks.
Boots are essential for all walks because the ground is often muddy, wet and at times quite rocky. Waterproof clothing is always carried as our British climate can catch us out and we usually take spare clothing and footwear to change into at the end of the walk for a comfortable journey home.
Children under 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult but parents may attend without their children.
The club’s next walk is on Sunday 26th January 2003 in the Arnside area of North Lancashire.
If you attend school or are a former pupil, are a member or former member of staff or are the parents of pupils past and present and are interested or thinking of joining contact the club chairman David Wake
dwake@cassassociates.co.uk, telephone Formby 878439).
Photograph
by Formby Photographic Group.
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