Police team up with primary schools to warn students about cyber safety

Children as young as 11 will be taught the dangers of sexting and online bullying, as police south of Brisbane move to get on the front foot of cyber security.

Logan primary school students will be taught about the dangers of cyber bullying and sexting.

Children as young as 11 will be taught the dangers of sexting and online bullying, as Logan police move to get on the front foot of cyber security.

The message will be delivered through the ThinkUKnow program, which aims to educate the Australian community about online child safety.

$1 FOR 28 DAYS: SUBSCRIBE TO ALBERT LOGAN NEWS & THE COURIER MAIL

The law enforcement-led initiative has been taught in high schools across Australia for 10 years.

But in the coming weeks, Beenleigh PCYC will recalibrate the program, delivering it for the first time to Year 6 students at schools across Logan.

Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Ralston. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Logan Child Protection and Investigation Unit detective senior sergeant Grant Ralston said with many children obtaining mobile phones in Year 6 — it was the right time to start.

“The sooner we can get that message out there — it’s going to prevent these kids from becoming victims,” he said.

Det snr sgt Ralston said with an increasing number of child exploitation reports received each year, the need for online vigilance had never been greater.

Figures released by the Education Department showed that in 2018, the department’s Cybersafety and Reputation Management team responded to 70 incidents of cyber-bullying and inappropriate image sharing.

The department’s team provides direct support for schools to respond to concerns of inappropriate online behaviour.

This year, the team has already dealt with 46 incidents — including 35 cases that involved cyber-bullying and 11 that involved sharing images deemed inappropriate.

Det snr sgt Ralston said he had seen cases where primary students have been involved in sexting and said the “anxiety and stress” this caused was hard for many young victims to get over.

“Once they’re a victim of this once, it stays with them,” he said.

A spokesman for the Education Department said cyber safety was a community-wide issue and schools played an important role in supporting safe online behaviour.

“Students and families are encouraged to report any incidences of inappropriate behaviour to their principal to ensure students can be supported and their concerns carefully investigated,” he said.

For more information on how to stay safe online, visit thinkuknow.org.au.