A funding boost to stop child sex abuse images and videos coming into New Zealand has paid dividends.
Over the past year customs has doubled the number of specialist investigators and in turn doubled the number of arrests.
A specialist team of 15 officers work to lift the lid on the trade of child sex abuse and images that come into New Zealand.
Arrests have doubled after the budget boost, with 14 arrests made last year.
“The growing awareness internationally of this type of offending is mind boggling,” said customs investigations manager Bruce Berry.
“We need to do our jobs and put them in front of the courts,” said customs child exploitation supervisor Kesta Dennison.
In the past three years a digital web filter has revealed there have been more than 1.4 million attempts to view child exploitation or abuse material in New Zealand.
“Most of the material that is produced is actually produced internationally,” said customs investigations operations manager Steve Waugh.
Earlier this month a 40-year-old teacher was apprehended at Auckland Airport with child abuse material on his phone.
“I think they get consumed by it. They will be functioning in society, but it will be a fulltime job for them, everything they do will be in the back of their mind, how can I offend,” said Ms Dennison.
Up to 80 per cent of people who collect child sex abuse material could also be contact offenders.
The internet used for daily activities is five per cent of the total net. The other 95 per cent is the dark web where most child sex material is shared.
“It’s hard for us to understand what actually does take place in the dark web because we can’t go in there and just have a look and say there’s a child abuse site there, there’s a child abuse site there. It’s all hidden away behind password protected areas,” said Mr Waugh.
Customs has a van decked out with the latest technology that can penetrate encrypted sites on suspects’ devices.
Each image has a fingerprint that can lead investigators to offenders and victims.
Last year customs identified and rescued 12 New Zealand child victims.
“We need to get these kids safe and get them away from these offenders,” said Ms Dennison.
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