UK to develop national database of child sexual abuse images

The UK is developing a national database of child sexual abuse images and trading websites.

The Child Abuse Image Database (CAID) is part of an international effort to classify images and find victims. Currently, the growth in the number of images and image duplication means police are having to classify large numbers of seized images, including identifying original images and new victims.

Police Minister Mike Penning said CAID was "a watershed moment in this government's drive to stamp out the despicable crime of online child sexual exploitation. The outcomes will be life-changing, and in some cases life-saving. That is how important this database is."

The CAID database is part of Project Vic, a larger international effort which classifies images held by police forces around the world. The two initiatives enable images to be shared easily. Project Vic coordinator Richard Brown from the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children said "It is groundbreaking for law enforcement, tool providers, non-profits and industry to all stand together and agree on the need to standardize the approach to such egregious crimes."

New Zealand's initiatives to reduce online child exploitation include joining the Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online and the Virtual Global Taskforce, both which enable international efforts against online child abuse. The Objectionable Publications and Indecency Legislation Bill currently before Parliament proposes increasing the penalities for making, trading or possessing child exploitation material.

The database is to be built by tech firms NetClean, Hubstream and L-3 ASA by the end of 2014. It is hoped to improve collaboration among police forces, cut investigation time and save £7.5 million.

Media:

UK builds child sexual abuse image database, BBC News, 17.10.2014

Image: Big Data by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Licence: Public Domain Dedication