This morning the Minister for Police and Minister for Corrective Services, the Honourable Mark Ryan will officially open the Youth, Technology and Virtual Communities Conference hosted by the Queensland Police Service’s Argos.
Since 2013 Argos has hosted the conference which brings together industry and law enforcement experts from across the globe who are unified in their commitment to protecting our children.
The conference has become internationally renowned as a platform to address this crime type from every angle – curating a guest list of policy makers, investigators, support agencies and academics who specialise in both victim and offender behaviour.
“By using the conference as a vehicle to promote change and best practice investigation, the QPS is ensuring we are doing everything we can to protect our children and make those who commit these horrific crimes accountable for their actions.
“But it is only through collaboration, community support and information sharing that we can truly achieve this goal,” Detective Superintendent Denzil Clark of the Child Abuse and Sexual Crime Group said.
This year, delegates will travel from 17 countries across the world.
They will be joined by behavioural psychologists, child protection practitioners and advocates, as well as law enforcement from across our state and nationally to share their insights and promote powerful discussion through case studies, workshops and seminars.
“With the continued uptake of social media and the influx of self-produced images flooding the internet, the conference is a great opportunity for us to educate and protect our community to help give all our children a great start,” Detective Superintendent Clark said.
Police Minister Mark Ryan said the Queensland Government is committed to ensuring Queenslanders are safe and commended the Argos team for their innovative approach.
“The Argos team’s approach to education, by shining a light on what is an uncomfortable topic and raising awareness of it, is the right thing to do.
“As well though, Argos shows what steps can be taken to defend the community from attacks on our most vulnerable citizens.
“Over the last few years, I have been in the fortunate position to see the positive results achieved out of past conferences and I once again look forward to hearing of how the issues discussed here today shape policy, research and our future policing response to this critical issue.
“I congratulate the team on putting together this important forum and extend my thanks to all those in attendance for their commitment and support of the victims and their exhaustive efforts to track down those who commit these crimes,” Minister Ryan said.
