CHILDREN NOW MORE VULNERABLE – POLICE CHIEF

Arron Nyamayaro

PARTICIPANTS from Zimbabwe and 10 other countries are in Harare to identify and rescue young victims of violence.

They also want to ensure that online material, which perpetuates child abuse, is blocked.

Commissioner General of Police, Godwin Matanga, addressed the official opening of the Victim Identification Task Force Training in Harare on Tuesday.

Participants are drawn from Zimbabwe, Gabon, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa.

Comm-Gen Matanga said crimes of child abuse and exploitation have grown at a rapid pace owing to the internet. “This training is aimed at building global capacity to deal with crimes against children, and is critical given that chil-dren are the most vulnerable members of our society. “It is equally gratifying to note that this training has drawn participants from 10 countries across the African conti-nent.

“This is undoubtedly reflective of the colossal value that police chiefs attach to the training of this magnitude.  “The advent of cyberspace, which is now a necessary reality, has doubled the vulnerability of children to different crimes, including varying forms of violence committed online.

“As such, this training programme is important as it builds on the ability of law enforcement agents to deal with one of the most serious crimes that has found its home in cyberspace,” said Comm-Gen Matanga.

He said it was disheartening to note that criminals prey on children on the internet.

The training is also expected to help prevent the migration of known sex offenders to different countries. “If such capacity is developed across all countries, the paedophiles will indeed be stopped in their path down the criminal track and have nowhere to hide,” said Comm-Gen Matanga.

“While cyberspace has given criminals added sophistication, I am happy to note that this training programme seeks to derive maximum utility on the same tools to curtail the wicked malady of crimes against children.

“The use of the international child sexual exploitation database, which is going to be covered by this training, will make our efforts as law-enforcement agents efficient and we will be able to match the criminals’ sophistication.” H-Metro