Net police incur BT charges

Paedophiles swap information via the web

Detectives trying to trace paedophiles on the internet are being charged for information by British Telecom.

The growth of the internet has given paedophiles an opportunity to swap information and images around the world.

But when police need technical help tracking the culprits BT are charging them £130 for each search.

The practice has been condemned by the parents of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne, who are campaigning for tighter laws against paedophiles.

Sarah Payne's parents condemn the charges

Sara and Michael Payne have issued a statement calling on BT to review its charging system.

"We think this is absolutely disgusting. We are trying to protect our children, their safety shouldn't have a price attached to it.

"BT makes enough profit as it is. How can it possibly justify charging the police for this critical information, " they said.

BT's policy differs from most service providers who let police check their records free of charge.

Internet investigations

Scotland Yard has a special squad of detectives dedicated to internet investigations.

Much of their work is aimed at tracking down paedophiles who use the web to share information.

Surely BT would want to make sure that paedophiles are not operating on the net

Internet detective

The criminals' increasing sophistication means the police are relying more heavily on external technical help and access to confidential customer records.

A police spokesman told ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald programme: "While BT have every right to recoup the cost of carrying out searches, they must balance this with the ethical questions.

"Surely they would want to make sure that paedophiles are not operating on the net, just as we are striving to do," he said.

Internet investigations have led to several arrests being made. Most notorious was that of the former pop star Gary Glitter who was convicted of downloading child pornography after a police investigation.

Gary Glitter downloaded child porn

Detectives were called in after pornographic images were discovered on a laptop computer he had taken to PC World for repair.

A spokesman for BT said the alarming growth of paedophilia on the web was partly to blame for the company's charges.

"We do a lot of work for the police and we are dealing with an increasing number of internet requests.

"We do make a modest charge for providing this help, but in no way does this go all the way to re-couping the costs involved," he said.