BC gets $3.5 million from federal government to combat child sexual exploitation

Municipal police departments in British Columbia are getting an additional $3.5 million from the federal government to combat child exploitation online, following more than 28,000 related investigations in the province between 2020 and 2023.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said in a press release on Saturday (Aug. 24) that the federal government’s Serious and Organized Crime Program will provide funding over the next three years to “strengthen the efforts of municipal police departments in the fight against online child sexual exploitation.”

The funding will be used for staff, training and equipment to strengthen the investigative capabilities of the Internet Child Exploitation Unit.

“Child exploitation online happens every day, and as social media platforms continue to grow, we must ensure our children are protected from those who would harm them. That’s why we continue to work with the federal government to provide law enforcement with the resources they need to support units tasked with the very difficult task of investigating these horrific crimes,” Farnworth said.

The release notes state that until recently, the Vancouver Police Department was the only independent municipal police department in the province with a dedicated Internet Child Exploitation unit. In 2021, five municipal departments in Greater Victoria launched a pilot project to develop the integrated Capital Regional District Internet Child Exploitation team.

Many police departments in the province conduct investigations but do not have the resources to focus exclusively on child abuse cases on the Internet.

The province says the funding will increase the capacity of teams in Vancouver and Greater Victoria, while also allowing all municipal police departments to increase officer capacity and training.

It will ‘support efforts to raise awareness, reduce the stigma surrounding reporting, and enhance British Columbia and Canada’s ability to prosecute and prosecute offenders.’

The Ministry of Public Security says reported incidents of online exploitation have increased significantly during the COVID-19 health emergency and have continued after the pandemic. The Internet Child Exploitation Unit has noted a significant increase in reports of exploitation, such as child luring, grooming and sexually exploitative material, with more than 28,000 investigations opened between 2020 and 2023.

Recently, the Burnaby RCMP reported that a 19-year-old man from the area was facing 23 charges following a Canada-wide sextortion investigation involving teenagers in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario.

In May, a 31-year-old man from the Langford area was charged in a joint British Columbia-US investigation after he was suspected of participating in child exploitation through a social media app.

In February, a man in Nigeria was charged with financial sextortion that resulted in the death of a Surrey teenager.

In January, Prime Minister David Eby announced his government’s plans to restrict the use of mobile phones in schools, which will come into effect in September of the next school year. This came after reports that a 12-year-old boy had committed suicide after being the victim of online sextortion.