Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with NT Police Detective Sergeant Paul Lawson regarding Operation May

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Katie Woolf spoke with NT Police Detective Sergeant Paul Lawson regarding Operation May · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf. Join the conversation with Katie Wolf.
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  Speaker 1: You are our eyes and ears in the Territory Mixed
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  Speaker 1: one oh four point nine.
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  Speaker 2: Now, as I mentioned a little while ago, between January
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  Speaker 2: and March this year, the Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team
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  Speaker 2: comprising of Northern Territory and Australian Federal Police, together with
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  Speaker 2: investigators from Queensland and the Australian Center to counter Child Exploitation,
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  Speaker 2: they executed Operation May. Now it's an operation which targeted
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  Speaker 2: online predators attempting to procure children through internet chat lines.
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  Speaker 2: Now joining us on the line is Northern Territory Police
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  Speaker 2: Detective Sergeant Paul Lawson.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Paul.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katy.
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  Speaker 1: Sorry to keep you waiting, Paul.
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  Speaker 2: Now, during this operation, investigators executed nineteen search warrants. Can
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  Speaker 2: you tell us some of the locations.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, we are executed Warranton, Darwin, Mataranka, Tenna Creek, Alice
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  Speaker 3: Springs as well as some remote ones in vic Daily
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  Speaker 3: region and the McDonald region.
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  Speaker 1: Now, what was the aim of this operation.
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  Speaker 3: We identified that through the through the Jacket team, the
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  Speaker 3: online presence of a number of offenders trying to procure children,
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  Speaker 3: so we engage with some of them online and get
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  Speaker 3: the operation around from there.
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  Speaker 1: Goodness me.
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  Speaker 2: So, so you guys the investigators had to engage in
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  Speaker 2: I'm assuming like chats or engaged with these predators in
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  Speaker 2: an effort to try and catch them.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, we have that online capability through the Australian Centers
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  Speaker 3: Counter Child Exploitation. They do all the online chatting and yeah,
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  Speaker 3: we go out on the field and try to find
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  Speaker 3: these people.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I've got to say, like for me, it's something
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  Speaker 2: that you know, frightens me as a parent. I've got
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  Speaker 2: kids that are at that age where they play different games.
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  Speaker 2: You know, sometimes you do see that there's there's people
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  Speaker 2: that they do not know who try to talk to them.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, how easy can this type of thing happen?
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  Speaker 3: Yes, very easy. That's probably one of the main goals
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  Speaker 3: in this operation is to bring a bit of attention
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  Speaker 3: to for parents, to show them that they need to
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  Speaker 3: keep an eye on what the children are doing online.
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  Speaker 2: So what's the best piece of advice I suppose for parents?
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  Speaker 2: You know, how can we do that?
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  Speaker 3: There are a number of different safety mechanisms for in
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  Speaker 3: line with security, but it's mainly talk to your children
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  Speaker 3: and find out what they're doing online and keep an
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  Speaker 3: eye on them.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Paul, can you talk us through how many people
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  Speaker 2: have now been charged as a result of this operation.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, we got a total of fifteen people charged. There
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  Speaker 3: were thirteen in the Northern Territory and two in Queensland.
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  Speaker 2: Wow.
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  Speaker 1: What type of offences have they been charged with?
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  Speaker 3: A lot of child abuse material offences and also procuring
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  Speaker 3: children for sexual intercourse far right out.
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  Speaker 2: It's you know, like I said, it's pretty bloody frightening
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  Speaker 2: as a parent some of the different ways that you know,
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  Speaker 2: we talked to our kids about stranger danger on the street,
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  Speaker 2: but it's so important that we're sort of talking to
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  Speaker 2: them about that kind of stuff when you're online as well,
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  Speaker 2: isn't it.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's the main thing if people take away from
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  Speaker 3: this is educating your children and yeah, keeping eye them online.
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  Speaker 3: Were increasing our online presence. But yeah, the parents can
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  Speaker 3: do a better, John, what we can now?
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  Speaker 2: What kind of I mean, what kind of behavior are
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  Speaker 2: people sort of engaging in expecting that you know, there's
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  Speaker 2: some detail that you're not going to be able to
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  Speaker 2: tell us here, But what kind of stuff are we
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  Speaker 2: talking about? Yeah?
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  Speaker 3: Well, the example that we gave one of the offenders
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  Speaker 3: thought they were speaking to a twelve year old girl,
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  Speaker 3: but it was a police officer and we arranged them
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  Speaker 3: to meet and them. The main reason for the offender
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  Speaker 3: to meet was to engage in sexual in the course
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  Speaker 3: as a child, So we use an undercover operative and
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  Speaker 3: pretty much lured him into the site so we could
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  Speaker 3: arrest him.
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  Speaker 2: Good on you, guys, I tell you what, you know,
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  Speaker 2: the more of these people that you can catch, the better.
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  Speaker 1: Why was this operation conducted?
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  Speaker 2: I mean there's obviously see real concerns that you've got
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  Speaker 2: quite a few people out in the community, or that
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  Speaker 2: there are people in the community who are engaging in
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  Speaker 2: this disgraceful behavior.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's we detected it. We get referrals from the
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  Speaker 3: ACE in Brisbane. But also anybody if you've got if
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  Speaker 3: your children, if you think your children are target of
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  Speaker 3: any of this sort of activity, you can report it
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  Speaker 3: on line to the Australian Center to Child count a
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  Speaker 3: child exploitation.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, so if there is maybe something that's gone on,
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  Speaker 2: if a parent is concerned, that's the best tack to take.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, that'll crime stoppers.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well are you I mean, are you guys worried
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  Speaker 2: that there could be more of this happening than what
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  Speaker 2: you're aware of.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's always a worry, Katie, but we're our online presence,
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  Speaker 3: we're working towards trying to cover more and more of
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  Speaker 3: these chat forums.
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  Speaker 2: All the time. Good on you, and well done to
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  Speaker 2: everybody involved in this in this operation because, like you know,
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  Speaker 2: like I've said throughout the interview, it's a concern for parents,
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  Speaker 2: there's no doubt about it, and we all try our
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  Speaker 2: best to keep a really close eye on our kids,
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  Speaker 2: but sometimes, you know, people sort of still slip in there,
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  Speaker 2: and I think it's really important the work that you're
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  Speaker 2: doing to keep the kids safe.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, and this is a great example of how the
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  Speaker 3: police agencies are working together these days to ensure this
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  Speaker 3: sort of behavior stops.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, one hundred percent.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Northern Territory Police Detective Sergeant Paul Lawson, I appreciate
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  Speaker 2: your time this morning, Thanks for chatting with us.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks Gertie, Thank you,