Online police unit saves 278 children from paedophiles.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) said it safeguarded 278 youngsters over the past 12 months.

The number was double those helped in the previous period by the unit and the most in one year since it was established in 2006.
Of the children, 47 were identified and found as a result of analysis of images and videos posted online by paedophiles.

Meanwhile 417 suspected child sex offenders were arrested for offences from possessing indecent images to rape.

Jim Gamble, who leads Ceop, said the unit also disrupted the activities of 96 networks sharing images of child abuse.

He said: "Ceop brings together cross-sector expertise and then delivers bespoke frontline services to a whole network of practitioners.

"That is real economy of scale and our results year on year show the
very lasting and significant impact we are making."

Home Office crime prevention minister James Brokenshire said: "The Government is committed to protecting children and Ceop plays a vital role which means more children are safeguarded, more offenders are apprehended and more professionals are trained."

The unit's annual review said work continued to build a virtual warehouse housing every child abuse image collected by Ceop.

It is linked to international police databases and helps reduce
duplication by investigators.

The report said long-term undercover inquiries into several international online paedophile networks were coming to a conclusion.

Ceop has enjoyed success tracking wanted offenders, with 16 out of the 20 individuals publicised traced over the past four years.

It has also set up a network of more than 46,000 volunteers to give internet safety lessons.

Ceop has seen some success in introducing a "panic button" for websites, despite a public spat with online giant Facebook.

Investigators received more than 6,200 reports of suspicious activity online through the button, including grooming and fraud.