The Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commission is currently running a consultation aimed at children and young people across the county, which will help shape a new strategy to tackle online crime.
Social media has become part of our everyday lives but there are risks attached. These range from bullying and harassment through to child sexual exploitation.
We know that online crimes are underreported. This consultation will help the Police and Crime Commission understand the perceived risks and behaviours of young people and their parents so that a programme of education and prevention and can be implemented.
Police and Crime Commissioner, Adam Simmonds, said: “Social networking sites feature in virtually every single case our cyber-crime detectives investigate.
“It is vital that we take positive action to tackle online exploitation, and this consultation is a crucial part of that.
Surveys have been devised to capture young peoples’ experiences of being online and how they are affected by them, their perceptions of the risks they face and what they would do if they felt something they came across was inappropriate.
Parents and carers are also being asked to complete the survey, to enable the commission to find out how much they understand about the risks children face when they are online.
If this subject is relevant to you, please take a few moments of your time to help us by completing a survey, encouraging children to complete the age appropriate surveys and forwarding this request on to appropriate family and friends.
The surveys are available online now – just click into the following link – and remember, by completing a survey, you will be able to take part in a prize draw to win a £100 shopping voucher.
http://www.northantspcc.org.uk/#!/GetInvolved/23393
Closing date: Friday 24th October
Paper copies of the survey are also available. To request this, or if you have any other questions about this consultation, please contact Marie Rose marie.rose@northantspcc.pnn.police.uk