5. HEKIA PARATA (National) Link to this
to the Minister of Police
What actions are being taken by the police to protect New Zealand children from exploitation via the Internet?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Police) Link to this
I am pleased to report that a specialist team in the New Zealand Police called OCEANZ, which is short for Online Child Exploitation Across New Zealand, is producing excellent results in its work to spare children from abuse by online predators. The squad was formed in October last year to coordinate international operations into online paedophile networks, and to identify and rescue victims of abuse. It also targets those who produce images of abuse for financial gain. The team has already rescued six children from current sex abuse settings, safeguarded a further 25 children from potential sexual abuse, and identified another two victims from images seized during its investigations. The team’s work has also led to an offender in the UK being arrested for extremely serious offences.
What other agencies are the police working with to protect children from exploitation by online predators?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
The OCEANZ squad is working closely with its New Zealand partners in the Department of Internal Affairs and the Customs Service. In addition, the police have just joined the Virtual Global Taskforce. The task force is made up of law enforcement agencies from around the world, working together to fight child abuse online. This will strengthen the efforts being conducted on an international scale to break online paedophile networks, and to protect and rescue children from abuse.