Only 56 Cops Handling Online Crimes Against Children

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Bukit Aman’s sexual, women and child investigation division principal assistant director Siti Kamsiah Hassan said her unit faces challenges in terms of expertise since this field requires new knowledge and skills.KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Aman’s sexual, women and child investigation division (D11) has revealed that there are only 56 officers in the Malaysian internet crime against children investigation unit (Micac) established more than five years ago.
The division’s principal assistant director, Siti Kamsiah Hassan, said that although the unit was small, it showed that Malaysia had got the “ball rolling” to align with international law enforcement agencies in combating online sexual crimes against children.
“Yet, due to the size of the unit, there is a deficit in resources and facilities.
“There are also challenges in terms of expertise since this field requires new knowledge and skills,” Siti said when addressing a town hall event hosted by Yayasan Chow Kit aimed at strengthening online safety for Malaysian children.
Last year, it was reported that police had received notification that 93,368 IP (internet protocol) addresses were suspected of sharing child pornography, but due to the lack of trained staff, only 103 of these addresses were checked.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) head of community engagement Hashimah Hashim said digital service providers need to be more proactive in taking down harmful content.
“These service providers should be taking down dangerous content instead of waiting for directives from MCMC or complaints from the public. The law already allows them to ensure their network is not being abused,” Hashimah said.
However, CyberSecurity Malaysia CEO Amirudin Abdul Wahab said it would be hard to control people’s private use of the technology.
“In the end, technology is a double-edged sword. There are good things, yes, but there will always be bad uses.
“For now, parents are advised to minimise their children’s social media presence or at least reduce how much of their photos are being uploaded,” he said. - FMT

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