Child protection expert calls for new gardaí powers

Gardaí require additional powers to enforce new laws concerning the solicitation and grooming of children, a leading expert has said.

Professor Geoffrey Shannon, the special rapporteur on child protection, said An Garda Síochána needs new powers in light of the offences created in sections 3 to 8 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017.

He makes recommendations in a paper which has been published by the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD) in its recent conference report on cybercrime.

Professor Shannon states: “It cannot be denied that mobile devices are now very powerful computers with the memory capacity to contain many thousands of images, text and video files that constitute child pornography, along with ICT evidence of grooming, solicitation, sexual exploitation and important evidence relating to contact sexual offences (e.g. images and chat/SMS messages discussing the incident).

“To reflect this modern situation, An Garda Síochána should be provided with a power similar to section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Acts. The historic position whereby child pornography was often stored on an offender’s computer in his or her home does not reflect the reality of modern technology.”

He also calls for new powers to request information from technology companies like Facebook and Google with offices in Ireland.

Professor Shannon said: “For the investigation of child pornography and sexual offences cases against children where ICT is involved, An Garda Síochána should be provided with the power to obtain a production order in respect of data that is either ‘held or accessible’ by content providers based in Ireland.

“This order could then be served on any such provider registered in Ireland requiring production of ICT evidence - photos, chat, account information and IP addresses.

“An order similar to that provided for in section 15 of the Criminal Justice Act 2011 for fraud and banking is worthy of consideration. It seems anomalous that powers introduced to deal with the banking crisis should not be available to protect vulnerable children.”