How you can keep kids safe online

Last year, when Victorians were plunged into strict lockdowns to stop the spread of coronavirus, many children spent more time at home and subsequently online. Often this time online was unsupervised, making them vulnerable to sexual predators.

It resulted in the Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) receiving an increase in requests from police members across the state, including in regional Victoria, to assist with investigations where children had reported being groomed by offenders while playing online games.

JACET is a joint team comprising both Victoria Police members and members of the Australian Federal Police, with a focus on investigating online child exploitation.

Within JACET there are several teams, including an investigation team, covert online investigators, a victim identification team and the newly formed Gaming and Peer-To-Peer Team.

The latter was established late last year, in an effort to combat the rise in offenders targeting children playing online games.

Four trained detectives, who are overseen by a Detective Sergeant, form the team.

Detective Acting Sergeant Monica Hogan said the team proactively monitored numerous gaming platforms and used covert methods to identify potential child sex offenders in the online gaming space.

By monitoring the gaming space and researching new games on the market, the detectives also provide training to other police.

They also investigate any reports received from regional investigators if they seek JACET's assistance.

Detective Acting Sergeant Hogan said the rise in child sexual offenders using games to contact children was concerning for police.

"Where children are - child sex offenders will go, and this is just another platform they are using to engage with children."

Detective Acting Sergeant Hogan said online offenders were very manipulative and would often force children "into situations they find it difficult to get themselves out of".

"They will manipulate children into sending explicit images of themselves and then further exploit them by threatening to share those images," she added.

In some cases, the offender also manipulates the child into meeting face-to-face.

As the internet removes borders, the offenders are targeting Victorian children at not only a local level, but also from interstate and overseas.

The team currently has a number of active investigations into offenders.

Police are constantly trying to stay on top of new trends with how child sex offenders are trying to engage with children as they emerge, such as by creating this dedicated team. But it is a space that is constantly evolving.

"There are more kids going online. A lot of kids are on social media but also playing games too," Detective Acting Sergeant Hogan said.

"Often they leave their chat options open so whoever they are playing with online has the ability to speak with them, whether in groups or private messaging."

There are steps that parents and carers can take to increase their child's safety online. Parents and carers are encouraged to become involved in how their children spend time online, by learning about the games they play and the apps they use.

Detective Acting Sergeant Hogan said parents and carers should check their children's privacy and chat settings and to use parental controls. Rules can also be set around a child's online time and ensure the games they are playing are age-appropriate.

It is also important to speak with children about the risks online and to reassure them that an adult can be approached, no matter what happens.

For more tips, visit www.esafety.gov.au

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