Editorial - European Union Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Crime... The paedophile ring communicated using an online forum – boylover.net – that promoted sexual relationships between adults and young boys. ”The website operated from a server based in the Netherlands which attempted to operate as a ‘discussion–only’ forum where people could share their sexual interest in young boys without committing any specific offences, thus working ‘below the radar’ of police attention,” said Europol. Having made contact on the site, some members would move to more private channels to exchange and share illegal images and films of children being abu - sed. Computers seized from those arrested have harvested huge quantities of child abuse images and videos. Police infiltrated the site, and Europol analysts cracked the security features of a key computer server at the centre of the network which uncovered the identities of suspected child sex offenders. Europol issued over 4,000 intelligence reports to police authorities in over 30 countries in Europe and elsewhere, which has led to the arrests of suspects and the safeguarding of children. ”I am proud of the exceptional work of our experts in helping police authorities around the world to record these 4 Continued from page 3 Most law enforcement agencies working with child sexual abuse material (CAM) believe it is time to stop the use of the misleading term “child pornography” when describing images of the sexual abuse of children. It would be better to use a term or title that gives a better understanding of the crime and more respect to the child victims of such abuse. A sexual image of a child is “abuse” or “exploitation” and should never be described as “pornography”. Pornography is a term used for adults engaging in consensual sexual acts distributed (mostly) legally to the general public for their sexual pleasure. Child abuse images are not. They involve children who cannot and would not consent and who are victims of a crime. The child abuse images are documented evidence of a crime, not as police would photograph a crime scene where the crime has already been committed, but as a “crime in progress” – a child being sexually abused. Adults who are sexually aroused by these abuse images of children do not care if or believe that the child is being abused. By calling the images “child porn” or “kiddy porn” it allows them to think groundbreaking results,” said Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol. ”The safeguarding of so many vulnerable children is particularly rewarding and demonstrates the commitment of our agency to make Europe a safer place for its citizens.” As the operation “Rescue” continues, new arrests can be expected. As Peter Davies from the Britain's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre told media, ”those who have be - en members of the site can expect a knock on the door in the very near future.” ...and punishment With the improvements in their equipment and training on fighting new types of crime, police in Bosnia and Herze - govina have also become a partner in the global effort to stymie the production and distribution of child abuse material on the Internet. Only a week after the operation “Rescue”, BiH law enforcement agencies conducted acti - ons in Brčko District and Republika Srpska, arresting five persons and seizing a large quantity of equipment, CDs and DVDs. The search of one of the suspects’ premises uncovered the largest amount of child abuse material ever found in BiH. ”Police officers seized more than two million pictures and 7,000 recordings portraying sexual abuse of children, as well as a bag full of children’s’ clothes,” said Republika Srpska Ministry of In - terior Spokesperson, Mirna Šoja. One of biggest changes, which ena - bled this successful police operation, was the amendment of the Republika Srpska Criminal Code. ”In May 2010, RS Criminal Code was amended in line with the International cyber convention whose signatory is Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Šoja. ”These changes created better conditions for police work because, for example, in accordance with previous provisions in the law, the possession of child pornography was not a criminal offense, only the distribution was. New amendments to the Code stipulate that the possession of child pornography is a criminal offense as well.” As the legal framework is one of the key preconditions for a successful fight against child abuse on the Internet, EUPM legal experts made an assessment of legal provisions in Federation BiH, Republika Srpska and Brčko District regarding this type of crime. ”Prohibition of child abuse material is regulated at the entity level,” says Marie-Ursula Kind, EUPM Senior Cri - mi nal Justice Expert. ”The criminal codes of Federation BiH, Republika Terminology: Child Porn vs. Child Abuse Material that it is somehow acceptable, like other types of pornography. The adults who view these images also possess and trade this material to fuel their sexual desires towards children and this may result in an offence towards a child they come in contact with. The terms "kiddy porn" and "child porn" are used by criminals and should not be legitimized by law enforcement, judiciary, the public or media. Legislation in some countries, or even the names of the departments dealing with child sexual abuse within the police, may use terms like "child pornography", making the term difficult to avoid. Such definitions and names reflect an era where one did not fully understand the impact of sexual abuse and is slowly changing as legislation is revised and the victims are given better protection and rights. Law enforcement, as the first line professionals, should contribute to this change by being precise in their terminology. Children who have been sexually abused and photographed deserve to be protected and respected and not have the seriousness of their abuse trivialized by the term "porn". � Source: Interpol European Union Police Mission | www.eupmbih.eu
Srpska and Brčko District prohibit the photographing or filming of a child with a view to developing photographs, au - dio-visual tapes or other pornographic materials and making such material available to third persons.” The minimum sentence according to all three criminal codes starts with a fine, while the maximum sentence is higher in the RS (eight years) than in FBiH and Brčko District (five years), adds EUPM Criminal Justice Expert, Volodymyr Zhminko. ”Also, the possession, importing, selling, dealing in or projecting of child pornographic material is a criminal offence according to all three criminal codes,” says Kind. ”In FBiH and Brčko District such conduct is punished by im - pri sonment, the term ranging from one to five years. The RS Criminal Co de, while similar to the other two, also in - cludes the production, purchasing, ke - ep ing or screening of a child pornographic show. Such criminal activity is punished either by a fine or imprisonment of up to three years.” There is no provision about child abuse material in the BiH Criminal Code. Policing the Internet Still, the fight against child abuse material starts at a “lower level”, with dedicated police officers sifting through bits and bytes of data found on the Internet. Their education continues in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only last week, Re pub lika Srpska Po li ce gathered the ir counterparts from other BiH law enforcement agencies and ex perts from abroad, and organised a two-day seminar on how to respond to cyber crime challenges, and how to combat and prevent abuse on the Internet. One of the experts, De - tective Serge ant Micha el Moran of the Interpol European Union Police Mission | www.eupmbih.eu Traf ficking in Human Beings Sub–Di - rec torate, is vehement that police need to “normalise” and “de-technify” the Internet instead of making it a specialist policing category that mystifies ordinary officers. ”Every police officer should receive ba sic training in online crime, and every station in the world should have unfettered access to the Internet,” con- cluded Moran. ”Not only is the Internet policeable, but it’s often easier to police than the real world.” And as new technologies challenge existing police practices, BiH law enforcement seeks to learn from the best of their peers how to rise to this challenge and become a force to be reckoned with in the global movement against online child abuse. � 5
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Editorial - European Union Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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