Technical know-how the key to defeating online predators

THE state’s top cop for online child safety has warned Queensland parents that their lack of technical knowledge could potentially leave their children vulnerable online.

THE state’s top cop for online child safety has warned Queensland parents that their lack of technical knowledge could potentially leave their children vulnerable online.

Detective Inspector Jon Rouse, who heads Task Force Argos, said kids were “running rings” around their parents with their devices.

Detective Inspector Jon Rouse, who heads Task Force Argos, said kids were “running rings” around their parents with their devices. Picture: Russell Shakespeare

Insp Rouse said parents were the most important people in terms of protecting children online and they needed to better understand the technology that exists before they hand it to their children.

“Part of the challenge is that a lot of parents just don’t have the technical knowledge around even how a phone is used and their kids are running rings around them,” he said.

“Parents, carers or guardians, whoever has the responsibility for the day-to-day safety of that child, is the most important person in terms of protecting them online.

“There is just so much that could be stopped at the frontline, just by the parent, carer, guardian intervention.”

Insp Rouse said parents needed to be aware of their child’s online behaviour and urged them to block their children from interacting with strangers online.

“Child-sex offenders will harvest images of children on the internet, create fake profiles, engage children, befriend them and ultimately groom them,” Insp Rouse said.

“That has happened countless times. So how do you know who your child is actually talking to ... if it’s not somebody they’ve met in the real world.”

Insp Rouse said parents needed to better understand the technology that exists before they hand it to their children.

Insp Rouse also warned parents that sex offenders would generally target children who were potentially vulnerable and were lacking family support.

“At the back of a child-sex offender’s mind is that they are looking for a child that will engage them,” he said. “If (parents are) not there to support them, there are plenty of people online that will move in and take that role. They will spam 100 children with friend requests. It’s the ones that respond that are obviously potentially ­vulnerable.”

Insp Rouse has worked in child-sex crimes for 20 years and is now the head of Task Force Argos, a sophisticated branch of the Queensland police that deals with the state’s worst online sexual predators. He revealed the task force has managed to nab more than 130 alleged offenders this year.

He urged parents to talk to their children about online dangers.