The National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos) has initiated a national police action to prevent the spread of material showing child abuse.
The operation named Share covers all police districts in Norway, wrote Kripos in a press release on Thursday morning.
Police action has been named “Operation Share” and included all police districts in Norway. AS a result of the operation, 73 people all over Norway have been charged with distributing child pornography materials.
During the press conference, Kripos chief Ketil Haukaas said they have a special responsibility to protect children and it is one of the most important things to do as police.
– Approximately 30 percent who are suspected or convicted of handling these materials are also physical abusers. online sharing of the abusive images or movies is a new assault against children each time, says Lena Reif, Head of Section for sexual offenses at Kripos.
The police stated that the cases are under investigation in rural areas and they assist districts in expanding the investigations.
– There are still things to do. We have arrested and questioned 73 people along the way. 44 of them have admitted guilt, in addition there are some who have acknowledged facts, but not guilt, says Bjørn-Erik Ludvigsen, superintendent at Kripos.
Also during the operation, 30 witness statements were taken and 173 computers together with more than 600,000 child abuse images were seized. Kripos reports that they have been working on the project for a few months and monitored traffic fortnight periods.
