Thunder Bay police cyber crimes unit 'extremely busy' as child pornography cases spike

Members of the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) have charged nine people with 17 offences related to possession, distribution, or the making of child pornography since January 1, 2020. 

According to police, none of the cases were connected to each other. 

Det.-Const. Chris Dunnill, a member of the Thunder Bay Police Service's cyber crimes unit, said the spike in cases in the short time frame is unlike anything he has seen before.

"Safe to say this year we have been extremely busy," he said in an interview with CBC News. 

According to Statistics Canada, in 2016 ten people were charged with child pornography related offences in the municipality of Thunder Bay. In 2017 one person was charged, and in 2018 two people were charged with these types of offences. 

'We are getting better at what we do'

While the recent spike of child pornography related offences in the northwestern Ontario city is a grim reality, Dunnill said he hopes the number of people police have been able to charge is a deterrent that is making a difference.

"Our theory is that if we could take the demand away, if we could make it so difficult for them to go online and trade this content by just continually catching them and charging them, then that demand will drop. And as such...save a child, save several children from being exploited," he said. 

According to Dunnill, the police service's cyber crimes unit is better staffed than ever before, which may be contributing to the frequency of charges being made. He added that training and resources for officers have also been increased in recent years, which has made it easier for them to "step up".

"We are getting better at what we do. Everyone in here is extremely dedicated and motivated to do this work," he said about the four staff members, including himself, who make up the cyber crimes unit. 

Dunnill is unable able to confirm if the spike in cases is related to an increase in cyber crimes, or if the resources the unit now has is making it easier to catch people who possess or distribute child sexual abuse material. 

"It's something we talk about often…as to whether it's increasing or whether we're just getting better at finding these people. And quite honestly, at this point, I'm not too sure," he said. 

He added that while he hopes the rate of trafficking is not increasing, he is not naive to the fact that "finding child pornography on the internet is not difficult."

According to Dunnill, "worldwide initiatives" between police departments has taken effect, which has fostered an increase in networking and information sharing between cyber crime departments. He said this practice often leads to finding other people who are trafficking child sexual abuse material.

But while new resources and communication is making it easier for police to lay charges, Dunnill said some of the same worries persist when it comes to actually protecting children online.

"The worry is, and always has been...these people who prey on children on the internet...they're social engineers and they will go to spots where children often communicate, and do things online, and make friends, and oftentimes lure them to some other platform," he explained. 

Child sexual abuse material online an 'epidemic worldwide'

Stephen Sauer, director of Cybertip.ca, which is Canada's national tipline for reporting online sexual exploitation of children, faces the same concerns as the TBPS, but on a national scale.

For the last two years Sauer has overseen a reactive model of the Cybertip.ca system, called Project Arachnid, where instead of waiting for reports from the public, the platform actively looks to remove child sexual abuse materials online.

Sauer said this new approach has revealed the severity and prominence of child sexual abuse trafficking.

"It's certainly a concern for [Cybertip.ca] when we see spikes in this activity," said Sauer, referring to the numbers provided by TBPS.

"One of the things that we've come to realize is that this is an epidemic worldwide, it's not just in small pockets...I think we're only starting to see the tip of the iceberg in terms of all the activity and we're just learning more as we go."

Sauer said Cybertip.ca and police across the country have a strong working relationship, which has allowed for some gaps to be filled when it comes to reactive and proactive measures. 

"The other piece of the puzzle that Cybertip really helps law enforcement with is the actual removal side...often they don't have the resources to put in the time to actually get material removed online...so that's one of the pieces that we really collaborate with them on," he said.

Sauer echoed Dunnill's sentiments about the collaborative efforts between police forces globally, which prevents anyone from working in silos, or reducing efficiency of enforcement.

5 million notices sent to service providers in 3 years 

Sauer added that in the last two and a half years, over five million notices were sent to services providers, such as Google and Facebook or other image "hosters," from Cybertip.ca to get child sexual abuse materials removed from services worldwide. 

When it comes to protecting children online, Sauer said it's important for the public to report any concerning or strange online behaviour from adults or children. He also stressed the importance of education for both adults and children surrounding these topics. 

As for police, Dunnill said local officers will continue to facilitate community presentations about online safety, which is a part of the TBPS mandate.

For more information on how to keep children safe online, and for educational resources visit Cybertip.ca.