A 14-year-old boy who sent a naked picture of himself to a schoolgirl on Snapchat was added to the police database, Welsh police have revealed.
Officers said he was one of soaring numbers of young people criminalised as the number of offences involving the possession of indecent images recorded by Welsh police has trebled over the last three years.
A freedom of information request by the NSPCC showed there were 1,321 indecent images offences over three years in Wales.
More than half that total, 738, was recorded during 2015 compared to 201 in 2013, although that figure is for only three of Wales’ four forces.
According to the children's charity, the increase in offences among youngsters may have partly been fuelled by "sexting", where someone sends an explicit photograph of themselves to another person on social media.
Highest number in South Wales
South Wales Police saw the highest number of recorded crimes across the three years with 480, followed by Dyfed-Powys Police with 412 and North Wales Police with 320. Gwent Police only provided figures for 2015, when there were 109.
Head of service for NSPCC Cymru/Wales, Des Mannion said the findings were alarming.
“These figures clearly show that there is a growing problem of people viewing child abuse material and more needs to be done to tackle the issue,” he added.
“We want to see companies who operate online to prioritise this issue by committing significant expertise and resources to preventing the publication and distribution of these images.
“Social network providers and other technology platforms must realise that they are the key enablers of online child sexual abuse and make a serious commitment to tackling it.”
Under 18s investigated
Across the UK the number of recorded crimes recorded for the possession, distribution and production of indecent images involving children rose from 4,530 in 2013 to 10,818 in 2015.
Where the age was known, North Wales Police had the highest number of under 18s being investigated for such offences – with 74 incidents.
There were 12 recorded by Gwent Police, while South Wales Police and Dyfed-Powys Police recorded none.
The NSPCC believe that the number of children reported to the police may include youngsters who share naked selfies.
Children need to be taught dangers
Mr Mannion said: “Children need to be taught about the dangers of sending sexual pictures of themselves so they don’t find themselves at risk of harm and abuse.
“Young people who are caught ‘sexting’ put themselves at risk of sexual exploitation, grooming and cyber bullying, whilst they could also face the prospect of a criminal record if they are reported to police.”
NSPCC Cymru/Wales called for the Welsh Government to take the lead on protecting children, with compulsory lessons on how to be safe online for all school children in Wales.
Recent research by the charity found that only half of parents know that kids taking and sending naked pictures is illegal.
More than 2,000 children were reported to the police for indecent image offences between 2013 and 2015.
see-http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/concern-over-young-people-sharing-11826558
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