Australian Police indicate increase in online abuse of children during lockdown
Members of the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) report an increase of child exploitation by 122% during the COVID-19 lockdown through April to June. The ACCCE has received 21 000 reports related to child exploitation in the last 12 months ending in July 2020 ,as compared to 14 000 cases that were reported in the same time during the previous period.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) in New South Wales Co-ordinator Nathan Green, attributed this rise in crime to more people spending time online resulting in offenders getting to spend more time with potential victims. He added that AFP investigators are dealing with up to 30 to 40 investigations simultaneously.
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