Beds Police Education & Diversion Team: Removal of self generated images or 'nudes'

Bedfordshire Police Education and Diversion Team has provided the following information:

“You may already be aware, but Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) have made available a brand new tool so that children and young people can report a nude image or video of themselves in order that the IWF can take steps to remove it from the Internet.  The tool has been under trial for about a year but is now available to all as of 22 June 2021.  Given the recent Ofsted report and research from many others, there are many reasons for taking/sharing and equally many barriers to reporting images and videos, so it is imperative that young people know that they can take action themselves and that something will be done. Importantly, a young person can even report an image/video that hasn't been uploaded and shared.  The IWF will assign a 'hash' to prevent the image being uploaded by anyone. We would urge you to share this information with staff and would recommend secondary schools share this information with students.

As always we are can offer support around this issue and are always happy to attend any educational setting and speak with students where appropriate.  We also strongly suggest that the advice set out in the guidance and the National Police Chiefs Council’s ‘When to call the police guidance for schools and colleges’ continues to be followed.

More information from the IWF can be found HERE and the Childline reporting tool, Report Remove, can be found HERE.

Safeguarding Bedfordshire offer a range of eSafety and digital technology and safeguarding training;