Lancashire police awarded for its work tackling child sex abuse

Date published: 21 May 2009

LANCASHIRE Constabulary has been recognised as one of the UK’s leading organisations in the fight against the sexual abuse of children after receiving a coveted award last night (Wednesday, May 20) from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.

CEOP - the UK’s national law enforcement centre for tackling the sexual exploitation of children - used the opportunity to announce record results with 346 children safeguarded, 714 arrests, 166 high risk sex offender networks dismantled and over four million children and young people empowered through the Thinkuknow education programme since the organisation was launched in April 2006.

Partnership is the hallmark of CEOP's approach and four officers from Lancashire Constabulary were last night recognised for their role in going the extra distance in helping the organisation in its work.

DC Gary Bolton, DC Nick Brown, Detective Sergeant Claire Lancaster and DC Kelly Rosenthall all received the Outstanding Contribution to Online Investigation and Child Protection 2008/09 Award for their work on Operation Nestegg – an investigation into the large scale distribution of indecent images on the internet.

The awards, which over the last three years have been presented to over twenty organisations and individuals, aim to recognise those who have gone the extra mile in tackling the sexual abuse of children.

Nominated by staff at the CEOP Centre, the winners range from front line police officers to industry organisations, all of whom have a vested interest in the safeguarding of children and young people.

Detective Inspector Pete Simm, from Lancashire Constabulary’s intelligence unit, said: “I am delighted that the work of these four officers has been recognised at a national level and would like to congratulate them all for their dedication and hard work in this sensitive area of police investigation.

“Lancashire Constabulary is determined to target offenders who use the internet to commit their crimes and will bring to justice anyone who views, shares and distributes indecent images of children. We work closely with organisations such as CEOP to ensure these criminals can no longer hide online and would continue to appeal to the public to help us with our efforts.”

Jim Gamble, chief executive of the CEOP Centre, added: “Working together in partnership is key to tackling the crime where many children and young people feel they do not have a voice.

“We would not be able to achieve the results we do without the tireless efforts of those organisations and individuals who really do make a difference.

“I would like to thank and congratulate the winners of our latest awards, not only on behalf of the CEOP Centre, but of those victims whose lives have been changed for the better following their efforts.”

For further information please contact Lancashire police press office on 01772 412333 or the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre on 0870 000 3434