It’s not just when your kids are out and about that you need to make sure they Stay Safe this summer.
With computers not only in every home, but in almost every pocket thanks to the rise in popularity of smartphones and tablets, there are potential dangers wherever you go.
However, as part of the force’s Stay Safe Over Summer campaign, there is plenty of help and advice available for young people and their parents about how to use the web to access information, socialise and have fun without putting themselves at risk.
The internet can be used by criminals to enable them to commit a wide variety of crimes, from fraud to blackmail and sexual offences.
It has also been used by bullies to target their victims in their own homes via social media.
According to the latest national research by the NSPCC, almost 25 per cent of 11 and 12-year-olds with social networking profiles experienced something that upset them in the last year.
These included seeing inappropriate content, being contacted by strangers and bullying – as well as concerns about privacy.
Superintendent Phillip Ward, of the Force Specialist Command Team, said: “The impact on victims from all forms of cybercrime can be devastating. Prevention of cyber enabled offences, support for victims and investigation of offences we become aware of is a priority for Humberside Police.
“Incidents or offences that pose the greatest threat, risk and harm to the community are identified at the earliest opportunity and investigated by specialist trained officers and staff.
“The rise in the number of reported crimes that reference Facebook and Twitter is a reflection of the significant increase in social media use locally and nationally, year on year. Educating people and in particular children on the potential dangers of social media related offences and importantly encouraging incidents to be reported to the police when they occur is also likely to be a factor.”
“Humberside Police work closely with our partner agencies, local businesses and schools to improve public understanding of the risks faced and provide advice on what we can all do to remain safe online.”
