§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts regarding tackling the distribution of child pornography on a European-wide scale; and what proposals were examined. [72526]
§ Mr. Hilary BennMember States of the European Union have been negotiating since January 2000 on a draft Framework Decision concerning the harmonisation of national laws in respect of the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. The Instrument will require Member States to adopt common definitions and minimum penalties in relation to the possession, acquisition, production and distributing of child pornography. It has been on the agenda for discussion at JHA Councils on 27–28 September and 6–7 December 2001; and 25–26 April and 13–14 June 2002.
On-line child pornography was also discussed at the meeting of G8 Justice and Interior Ministers in May. Ministers commissioned the relevant experts to: explore the creation of an international database to help locate victims and identified and apprehend perpetrators; and to implement a G8 strategy involving improved international co-operation; prevention; strengthened co-operation among law enforcement, industry, and civil society groups; public awareness; and outreach to other countries.
§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted of producing and possessing child pornography in the last year for which figures are available. [72523]
§ Hilary BennConvictions for producing child pornography are not directly identifiable on the Home Office Court Proceedings database.
The available information relates to possessing, taking or making indecent photographs, or pseudo-photographs, of children under the Protection of Children Act 1978 and the Criminal Justice Act 1988 or for possessing obscene material for gain under the Obscene Publications Act 1959.
This is contained in the table and relates to England and Wales in 2000.
Statistics for 2001 will be available in the autumn.
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Number of persons convicted at all courts for offences relating to pornography England and Wales 20001,2 Offence Statute Total convicted Possessing obscene material for gain Obscene Publications Act 1959 S. 2 as amended by the Obscene Publications Act, 1964 Sec. 1 81 Take or to make indecent photographs, or pseudo-photographs, Protection of Children Act 1978 Sections 1, 6 as amended by the 218
Number of persons convicted at all courts for offences relating to pornography England and Wales 20001,2 Offence Statute Total convicted of children Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Sec. 84 Possession of an indecent photograph, or pseudo-photograph, of a child Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1988 Sec. 160 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1988 Sec. 160 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1988 Sec. 160 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Secs. 84(4) and 86(1) 77 1These data are on the principal offence basis. 2Staffordshire Police Force were only able to supply a sample of data for magistrates' courts proceedings covering one full week in each quarter of 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust at a detailed level and so are excluded from this analysis.
§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been taken since 1997 to prevent the distribution of child pornography. [72522)
§ Hilary BennThe Government is determined to tackle child pornography whether on or off line and the criminal law applies equally to both.
In January 2001 we raised the maximum penalties for taking, making, distributing or showing indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children to 10 years imprisonment (from three years), and the maximum penalty for simple possession of such material to five years (from six months). Also in 2001 we made the importation of indecent or obscene material a serious arrestable offence to allow Customs and Excise officers and the police greater powers in investigating child pornography offences.
In response to concerns about the availability of child pornography on the Internet, a hotline for reporting this and other potentially illegal material was established by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) an industry funded organisation, in December 1996. Since its inception over 40,000 items of child pornography have been removed by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in response to the notice and take down procedure. The IWF also sends details to the police, or, since the majority of child pornography originates outside the United Kingdom, to the enforcement agency of the country concerned, via the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS). In February 2002, the IWF extended its policy, recommending to ISPs that they do not carry newsgroups which have been identified as regularly hosting child pornography or those with names that appear to advertise child pornography.
In November 2000, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, announced a £25 million investment in the police over three years specifically to fight hi-tech crime and to enhance the capability of the police at a national and local level to investigate computer related offences, including the possession and distribution of illegal pornography. This included the setting up last year of a National High Tech Crime Unit within the National Crime 70W Squad as a centre of excellence, which has already mounted a number of investigations in this area, as well as providing support to investigations let by other forces.
§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officers work in the UK special paedophile unit; what their annual budget is; and what plans he has to increase staff and resources. [72525]
§ Mr. DenhamEach United Kingdom police force is individually responsible for the investigation of such crimes within its own area and most have their own specialist units. In addition the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) provides support through the provision of intelligence by its Serious Sex Offenders Unit, which has eight staff and a budget of £370,000 per annum and the National Crime Squad and National High Tech Crime Unit carry out operations and provide assistance to other forces.
Allocation of resources now and in the future for the investigation of paedophile crime is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police.