TY - CHAP
T1 - Contemporary Issues in Child Protection
T2 - Police Use of Artificial Intelligence for Online Child Protection in the UK
AU - Tabi, Christantus
AU - Hewage, Chaminda
AU - Bakhsh, Sheikh Tahir
AU - Ukwandu, Elochukwu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
PY - 2023/1/3
Y1 - 2023/1/3
N2 - This chapter investigates Artificial Intelligence (AI) inspired approaches used by the police in protecting children online. The reviewed approaches are successful in most of the situations but have their own weaknesses. As such consideration is required for all stakeholders within the child protection arena. The utmost duty to protect children lies with all, irrespective of whether the abuse occurred on or offline. The reporting and intervention on child abuse cases were based on the community, as this was mostly offline perpetrated by parents or caregivers. However, with the advent of technology and the increasing use of the internet by children for several reasons, it has shifted most abuses from offline to online. The law enforcement authorities such as police plays a vital role in protecting children online and can apply different approaches compared to other agencies such as Social Services, Health, and Education. However, Government recommendations for a joint working response mean that all child-protected agencies need to work together in the process of protecting children (HM Government in Working together to safeguard children: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, Department for Children, Schools, and Families, London, 2010). However, with the emergence of COVID-19 and the high reliance on the internet by children, it meant that the police must adapt to the changes and rely on advanced technologies such as AI. The UK Police force is stretched due to a lack of financial and human resources, which means that alternative intervention methods are applied in monitoring and attacking online child abuse. This chapter challenges the use of AI unilaterally in predicting and identifying online abuse as opposed to face-to-face investigation and intervention. Though AI can be helpful, it has limitations that can impact on protecting children online as discussed in this chapter.
AB - This chapter investigates Artificial Intelligence (AI) inspired approaches used by the police in protecting children online. The reviewed approaches are successful in most of the situations but have their own weaknesses. As such consideration is required for all stakeholders within the child protection arena. The utmost duty to protect children lies with all, irrespective of whether the abuse occurred on or offline. The reporting and intervention on child abuse cases were based on the community, as this was mostly offline perpetrated by parents or caregivers. However, with the advent of technology and the increasing use of the internet by children for several reasons, it has shifted most abuses from offline to online. The law enforcement authorities such as police plays a vital role in protecting children online and can apply different approaches compared to other agencies such as Social Services, Health, and Education. However, Government recommendations for a joint working response mean that all child-protected agencies need to work together in the process of protecting children (HM Government in Working together to safeguard children: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, Department for Children, Schools, and Families, London, 2010). However, with the emergence of COVID-19 and the high reliance on the internet by children, it meant that the police must adapt to the changes and rely on advanced technologies such as AI. The UK Police force is stretched due to a lack of financial and human resources, which means that alternative intervention methods are applied in monitoring and attacking online child abuse. This chapter challenges the use of AI unilaterally in predicting and identifying online abuse as opposed to face-to-face investigation and intervention. Though AI can be helpful, it has limitations that can impact on protecting children online as discussed in this chapter.
KW - Artificial intelligence
KW - Big data
KW - Child protection
KW - Child safety
KW - Online abuse
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146219324&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-031-09691-4_5
DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-09691-4_5
M3 - Chapter
AN - SCOPUS:85146219324
T3 - Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications
SP - 85
EP - 107
BT - Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications
PB - Springer
ER -
