Gardaí demand units to tackle three-year backlog in searching devices for child abuse imagery

The Garda Representative Association’s central executive committee said garda management must ensure they are fully resourced and trained to target all forms of online crime, including having an online child exploitation unit in each garda division. File picture: RollingNews.ie

Gardaí are demanding the creation of dedicated child exploitation units to combat increasing reports of sexual abuse of minors and to tackle a three-year backlog of digital devices yet to be examined for sexual imagery.

Garda Damien McCarthy, a member of the Garda Representative Association’s (GRA) central executive committee, said garda management must ensure they are fully resourced and trained to target all forms of online crime, including having an online child exploitation unit in each garda division.

He said the European Commission reported a 64% increase in 2020 in confirmed child sexual abuse imagery cases and there’s been a 6,000% increase in the sharing of child abuse material on the internet in the last 10 years, resulting in 83,000,000 images and videos circulating worldwide.

There has also been a dramatic increase in the online grooming of children for abusive relationships with adults.

“There is a three-year backlog to examine digital devices seized in child abuse imagery investigations and other serious crime. This backlog has been highlighted for a number of years by the judiciary, the Garda Inspectorate and many others. The Policing Authority set gardaí a target in 2019 to cut waiting times to under 12 months,” Garda McCarthy said.

He said the US National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) forwarded 13,612 suspected child abuse cases to this jurisdiction in 2019/2020, believed to be linked to an Irish suspect or victim.

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“Hotline.ie is the Irish national reporting centre where members of the public can securely, anonymously, and confidentially report concerns in respect of illegal content online, especially child sexual abuse material. The core of their work is removing the child sexual abuse images and videos from the internet,” Garda McCarthy said.

He said there have been enormous increases in what’s described as ‘Catfishing.’ It involves using fake identities online, usually targeting someone for abuse or fraud.

Young people are tricked into sending explicit images of themselves to an unknown adult with a fake identity pretending to be in similar classes at school. The adult then threatens the child with sharing the images online if they don’t comply with requests.

For the third consecutive year Hotline.ie has received over 10,000 reports from the public. Social media companies have reported 22 million child abuse offences in 2020, up from 17 million in 2019.

“Given that there is a three-year backlog of devices to be examined within the organisation, we must not forget that there could be potential victims in those devices. We must think of the victims. They could be trapped and in danger for a prolonged period of time. 

"It’s time for the Policing Authority to speak up now. We need the relevant resources to provide an adequate response. Waiting any longer is not an option,” Garda McCarthy said.