Police believe “paedophile hunters” are sitting on evidence of child sexual abuse during the Covid-19 lockdown and fear a surge in vigilante action as measures are lifted.
Around 90 named groups are thought to be active in the UK, carrying out more than 100 undercover sting operations a month before restriction of movement rules were introduced at the end of March.
Assistant Chief Constable Dan Vajzovic said the “vast majority” involve “real world” action, where suspects are confronted, and the encounters often filmed and posted online.
But during the first month of the coronavirus lockdown just 16 incidents were recorded, with 15 of those limited to “e-activism”, where evidence gathered in chat logs is passed to police.
Mr Vajzovic, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for online child sex exploitation activist groups, said so-called paedophile hunters were still active and may be sitting on about 160 cases.
He told the PA news agency: “We’ve seen a dramatic decrease in the number of activist group incidents since lockdown. The online threat persists, and we are concerned that activists may be storing up incidents to act upon once lockdown measures are released.
“We believe that’s dangerous for child safety and would encourage activist groups to pass any material to police at as early a stage as possible.”
Vigilante groups usually pose as children or adult offenders online to lure in suspects and set up real-world encounters in order to expose them.
Their activity is not against the law but has occasionally resulted in alleged assaults, while some people targeted have taken their own lives.
