Nagaland police trained to combat online exploitation of children

Dimapur, July 24 (EMN): Feeling the urge to address the threat of internet connectivity that comes along with the undeniable benefit for education and entertainment especially among the children in this time of the pandemic, Nagaland Police, in collaboration  with the International Justice Mission (IJM), conducted an e-workshop on July 23 on the topic “Combating online exploitation of children.”

The workshop, which was the first of its kind organised to spread awareness, was attended by more than 90 participants from different departments such as National Informatics Centre, Social Welfare department, School Education department, Information Technology and Communication, and police officials from different districts headquarters, an update from the superintendent of police (crime) and PRO Kohima DEF stated.

In his opening remarks, IJM vice president of partnerships – South Asia, Sanjay Macwan said, “Law enforcement agencies are the change makers to bring social change by enforcing law and protecting people especially to those who cannot protect themselves.”

He also stressed on the need to ensure safety by controlling the power of criminals as the vulnerability of children has gone up in this digital age.

Delivering the keynote address, Nagaland ADGP (admn) Sandeep M Tamgadge threw light on the seriousness of such crimes and the need to control them.

“We need to take precautionary measures and standard operating measures to ensure that our children are protected from the crimes of online sexual exploitation,” said Tamgadge.

Guillermo Galarza, director of Law Enforcement Training and Technology, International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, presented on the global trends of online exploitation of children.

“We, as a community, need to protect the children before they get into the hands of the offenders. It is a collaborative effort and need multi-disciplinary approach to tackle the crime,” said Galarza.

Mike Duffey, Cyber High-Tech Crimes Unit, Florida, Department of Law, presented on the best practices for law enforcement in combating online sexual exploitation.

“We see a lot of youngsters today spending hours and hours on internet especially during this pandemic. This makes them more vulnerable to the crime.  The molester, on the other hand, is also present on the same platform trying to lure the children,” said Duffey.