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A TOTAL OF 25 people have been arrested as part of a major crackdown on the accessing of indecent images of children online across Northern Ireland.
Giving details of their ‘Operation Jarra’, the PSNI said the force had been involved in a series of search and arrest operations in the last few months.
As well as the arrests “steps were also taken to safeguard and protect 32 children as appropriate”.
A number of items – including hard-drives – were also seized for forensic tests.
Four people have appeared before court to date, while the remainder have been released on bail as investigations continue.
“The message is clear for those who continue to exploit children online,” Detective Chief Superintendent George Clarke of the PSNI’s Public Protection Branch said.
“You leave a digital footprint when you are downloading, viewing, making indecent images of children and we have the capacity, capability and determination to catchyou and bring you to justice.”
Dr Zoe Hilton – the Head of Child Protection at the National Crime Agency, which was also involved in the operation – added:
“The aim of this operation is to protect children who are victims of, or might be at risk of, sexual exploitation.
“Online images are not a ‘lesser’ form of abuse. Every child in those images has been sexually abused, and every time someone looks at an image that child is victimised again. Knowing those images are out there has a devastating impact on victims.
“Some of the people who start by accessing indecent images online go on to sexually assault children directly, but not all do. That is why, as well as bringing offenders to justice, we want to prevent potential abuse taking place by stopping people from crossing that line.
“Be in no doubt that we can police the internet. It is not a safe haven for accessing indecent images of children, and if you do it you should expect to come to our attention.”
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If you had switched on the location services you could find that brick in a jiffy. Then again I suppose anyone could track the phone location, hack into it, turn on the camera, record everything. Follow you on Facebook, take your credit card details and all your stored passwords and PIN’s. There’s a lot to be said for the brick.
*cough* HTC
That’s the exact same reason I won’t buy a laptop. I remember the old typewriters, weighed as much as a small car, and you had to practically JUMP on the keys to get them to work…
Was playing with a typewriter over weekend – what a lovely feeling! The sound must have driven the clerks demented though!
In saying that, it would lull you into a nice snooze. Or is that just me on a Monday morning?!
I’d say you’d have super-powerful fingers after a few week using one!
*sigh*
I really enjoy Nick’s columns, but why do I get the uncomfortable feeling that we’re now descending into ‘click-bait’ territory? Please don’t let this thread be another litany of ‘my one is better than yours’…
Wait for it…….fanboys are lining up.
Nick, who gives a curse. I spent 2k punts plus Vat on one of those. They were great for someone on the move but I can understand that their use in a prison was limited
I remember seeing one of those bricks, late 80′s I think. It was the size of a small car but boy did it look cool. Can technology keep going at such a rampant pace into the future? It’s actually quite scary to imagine what tech will be in our homes in 25 yrs from now.
Never mind your home, what will be in your body in 25 years.
Why does the journal give this guy so much time?
I think he writes good articles!
I think he writes good articles!!
Nick writes very good articles, and most importantly, they’re entertaining, the views speak for themselves
As an ex con he has to be extended the olive branch that all other minority groups receive on this website. Never forget how many lives this man ruined.
Good man Tom. Olive branch, lives ruined, so much irony in one statment.
We’re lucky to have a commentator who knows the business inside and out.
I’ll agree this article is a bit below par though.
Nope, he writes whimsical sentimental claptrap.
Dead right. its bloody huge so is Galaxy S3, light and flimsy looking. Galaxy Note is worse. I have a Sony Ericsson, it a perfect size and does the exact same thing as the Top High Range Smartphones.. ?660 for new IPhone 5 on pay as you go. I can buy a new laptop and a new midrange android smartphone for the same price. Ridiculous!!!
Not sure I understand the point of this article. Apart from reviling us with tales of Nicks halcyon days and his distain for new technology? The ‘I used to ‘ave a brick phone’ story is an old one, as is the tired theme of ‘I’m out of touch, with technology and I love telling everyone about it’. I’m not sure how any of this qualifies nick to discuss the release of the iPhone 5? I’m not a fanboy and find apples constant incremental releases kind of boring.. But if your going to discuss something like privacy and the mobile phones affect on it try picking a tech journalist to write it??? I’m kind of surprised at the journals choice of coverage on this, article reads like a Kevin Meyers asshat moment.
Can someone please explain to me what a “Kevin Meyers asshat moment” looks like?.
A thinly veiled advertisement for the latest iphone. And possibly for the building suppliers too :)
So somebody has gotten old and doesn’t embrace technology shocker!
So what, I am sure people thought mobile phone back in the day was not needed. It was really cumbersome, you had to carry a spare battery too.
Modern smart phone is light weight and versatile. Happy to have one and as a business expense it is cheaper to me.
I need to use one now.
Nick, how about putting your genius to writing about the virtues of a fountain pen…. I’ll help!
Eee still don’t really know why are you not buying that phone even after reading this article. Is it because of money you will spend on it? Or because there is no point because soon enough there will be a new one? Or because you will be too easy to reach? Or from a totally different reason that you have not wrote about?
Just asking.
People who keep upgrading (whatever that may be phone,pc,laptop,tv cars etc) really dont care about the environment at the end of the day. Because there old one gets thrown in the dump.. Bigger and bigger dumps across the world. In a resourced based economy items would be built to last not to make a yearly profit margin.
Time for change and the change is coming. Zeitgeist.com
Hey Nick you can’t afford one you owe to much money…
have your say