Young people in North Wales warned about sharing nude images online
Operation visits 56 children to stress online dangers
Families across North Wales are being warned about children being targeted over intimate images shared online.
A month-long operation saw officers from the Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT) visiting children and families.
Throughout August, the team conducted 56 visits to young people identified for uploading self-generated nude images to platforms like Snapchat, Discord, and YouTube.
The force says these actions put them at risk of grooming or blackmail.
Some of the children had previously encountered online scammers resulting in indecent material being shared.
Officers provided support packs to parents and carers, aimed at helping them communicate with their children about online safety.
Detective Inspector Sofiah Valentine said: “We continue to encourage parents and carers to be diligent around the online activity of their children.
“Once an image has been uploaded to the internet, it can be very difficult to control who accesses it, how that image is used and where it may end up, even years later.
“Having open and honest conversations with young people about this could prevent them from falling victim to blackmail or grooming.
“As part of the intensification activities, officers also made several unannounced visits to individuals under investigation for offences relating to the child sexual abuse material to ensure that they were adhering to bail conditions currently in place.
“These visits were conducted on top of OCAIT’s usual business and pre-planned warrants which continued as normal.
“We will continue to safeguard children and bring perpetrators of online child abuse to justice to make North Wales the safest place in the UK.”