Brits Launch Child Porn Amnesty

UNITED KINGDOM – As Britain continues to be a leading force in the fight against child porn, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) is reviewing a proposal to launch an amnesty program for sex offenders.

While the program is not yet formalized, ACPO is considering a program through which confirmed sex offenders can surrender their hard drives to investigators. The hard drives would either be destroyed or wiped clean, according to the BBC. Those who step forward would also be asked to undergo a counseling regime and would be placed on the national sex offenders registry.

Donald Findlater, deputy director of child protection charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, is the brain behind the idea. Findlater was also the director of the Wolvercote Clinic for pedophiles, according to the BBC.

"Exposure to child pornography increases the likelihood of people becoming riskier around children," he told the BBC. "It is likely to reinforce images, attitudes and disposition and leak out into the way they conduct themselves in real time.

Findlater has been quoted as saying that he thinks the amnesty program could "nip child abuse in the bud for many offenders." And while he does not believe pedophiles can be cured in every situation, he believes that the excess of child pornography over the Internet has given way to a significant increase in sexual predators.

The idea behind the amnesty program is to offer child sex offenders a chance to surrender their illegal child porn content while at the same time sparing themselves the humiliation of a court appearance and a formal prosecution, says the BBC.

Subjects of the amnesty program would also be evaluated by a psychiatrist and determined whether they are a risk to children.

Some critics of the program feel that it would only be effective for "low grade pedophiles, but that the program will need some very careful structuring.

A spokesperson for ACPO told the BBC that the amnesty program will be firmed up in the first part of 2004, although it has not yet gotten a green light from police administrators.

Child porn task forces, including Operation Ore, have been swamped by the number of pending child porn cases that resulted from a massive investigation in the United States several years ago. But according to the BBC, British police forces have only been able to graze the tip of the iceberg in terms of arresting suspects.

The BBC reports that various police units are considering launching their own pilot versions of the program and that it is also being viewed as an opportunity for police to deepen their investigations into child porn rings.

"I don't believe that criminal law is the best way of resolving these major social problems," Findlater told the BBC. "Three quarters of child sex abuse is never reported anyway."

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Justices Alito, Thomas Invoke Victorian-Era Morality Law, Raising Censorship Concerns

Several national publications reported this week on widespread concern among Free Speech advocates after U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas repeatedly invoked during a hearing the infamous segregation-era law the Comstock Act, which was the cornerstone of U.S. censorship of sexual material from the 1870s until the 1970s.

Skinfluential Management's FansFuel Acquires Fanwire

Creator stats and affiliate marketing platform FansFuel has acquired creator account management tool Fanwire.

Nebraska AV Bill Moves Forward Despite Privacy, Free Speech Concerns

Nebraska’s unicameral Legislature has given first-round approval to LB 1092, the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

AEBN Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network (AEBN) is celebrating its 25th year in business this week.

Performers in Meta Blacklisting Lawsuit Seek to Preserve Antitrust Claims

Adult Performance Artists Guild board officers Alana Evans, Kelly Pierce and Ruby have informed a California court that, although they want to drop their lawsuit claiming that Meta conspired with OnlyFans to blacklist rival premium fan platforms’ talent, they may still pursue antitrust claims in the future.

FSC, Co-Plaintiffs to Ask US Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Texas Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and its co-plaintiffs in the challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law have petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to stay its recent decision upholding the law, because they intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law’s constitutionality.

FSC Vows to Fight Florida Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has issued a statement vowing to continue fighting Florida’s new age verification law, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as part of a comprehensive bill targeting minors’ use of social media.

Kansas Republican Aims to Create New Bureaucracy to 'Investigate' Porn Websites

Republican state legislators succeeded Monday in moving forward Kansas’ version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists, despite serious concerns raised by House Democrats about the cost of establishing a new bureaucracy tasked with investigating websites for pornographic content.

SK Intertainment Launches 'Skinfluential Management' Agency, FansFuel Joint Venture

Mr. Skin/Mr. Man parent company SK Intertainment has launched new creator agency Skinfluential Management, as well as a new joint venture with Showbizz Media's creator stats and affiliate marketing platform, FansFuel.

Industry Attorney, Free Speech Champion Clyde DeWitt Passes Away at 75

Noted industry attorney Clyde DeWitt passed away on Friday in Las Vegas at 75, according to friends and colleagues.

Show More