This is a joint media release between Western Australia Police Force and Australian Federal Police.
National Child Protection Week (NCPW) is a national campaign to highlight and educate the community that every child should be able to grow up safe. The campaign runs from Sunday 4 September through to Saturday 10 September 2022.
In the lead up to NCPW 2022, a joint operation involving WA Police, Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force, conducted WA Police Operation PALOMAR / AFP Operation TAMWORTH, to target offenders involved in the manufacture, distribution and possession of child exploitation material.
Over a 7-day period officers from WA Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET), consisting of AFP and WA Police officers executed approximately 61 search warrants in metropolitan and regional locations of Western Australia with approximately 16 of these search warrants being for Commonwealth offences pursuant to the Criminal Code (Cth).
This resulted in 45 people being charged in WA with 149 offences. 35,222 images and videos of child exploitation material were seized.
Importantly 3 victims were identified and rescued from ongoing child sexual abuse.
Detective Superintendent Gordon Fairman from the WA Police Sex Crime Division states “It has to be remembered that Child Exploitation Material is not pornography – it is direct evidence of children being abused. Identifying, locating and rescuing these children is the highest priority for WA Police and we work closely with national and international partners to do this. People who manufacture, distribute or possess Child Exploitation Material may believe they are anonymous, hiding behind a computer. Let me tell you that they are not. As this operation shows, we can identify them, we can locate them and we can prosecute them.”
In 2021, the AFP led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received over 33,000 incoming reports of child exploitation. This is double the number of reports from 2019.
AFP Detective Superintendent Graeme Marshall said the arrests were another example of the work undertaken by the AFP and WA Police every day to protect children across the country, and that law enforcement would identify, arrest and prosecute predators who sought to exploit and harm them.
“These figures show the scale of the problem and how we need everyone in the community – parents, teachers, carers – to be alert. Let this serve as a warning to anyone who produces or shares child abuse material – you will be caught,” he said.
“The AFP, together with our State, Commonwealth and international partners remain committed to identifying, arresting and prosecuting those who seek to exploit and harm our community’s most vulnerable – our children.”
