Nottinghamshire Police warn youngsters on the dangers of sexting as social media use increases during lockdown

According to research undertaken by Nottinghamshire Police’s Schools and Early Intervention Officers, it is estimated that around 20-30 per cent of teenagers have engaged in some form of sexting.

Sexting is the sending of explicit messages and images; this includes sending pictures of naked or semi-naked people in provocative poses.

PC Bev Jeffree, who delivers Nottinghamshire Police’s latest learning video, said: “As we are in a state of lockdown due to the coronavirus, children and teenagers will be using social media to interact with one another to keep in touch.

“The latest video is there to remind people of the potential consequences of engaging in sexting.

See the video here

“One of the key messages is that if you are under 18 yourself and received an image of another person who is also under 18, you could be in possession of an indecent image of a child, which is a criminal offence.

“Furthermore, pressuring someone into sending an indecent image could either be treated as harassment or bullying, something that we will investigate if it is reported to us.

“I would encourage anyone who is concerned for their friends or a family to get in touch with us.

“We are always here to help and are operating as usual throughout this crisis. We treat sexting among under 18s as a safeguarding issue and as such, we look take an educational approach to dealing with these offences.”

Chief Inspector Richard Stapleford, who leads Nottinghamshire Police’s School and Early Intervention Officers programme, added: “We have created these learning packages as our officers are unable to deliver them in schools as usual due to the coronavirus.

“We also want to raise awareness of the potential ramifications of sending an indecent image of yourself to another person.

“Once you have sent a picture or video to another person, you no longer have control over that image and while we look to take action against anyone who distributes an image further, your images could be shared publicly without your consent.”