To Ask the Police for Advice Ref Snapchat?

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Posting here for traffic...
My dd (15) was in tears last night because a boy a year old has been asking her to send photos of herself to him. Dd sent a clothed pic (no head) if her & to stop him hassling her.

She was quite hysterical yesterday so I'm not sure if I've got all the story, but he is at a different school & 'is Friends' with another girl at DD's school. This boy is threatening to send it to this girl & my DD is worried that she'll show people at her school.

Dd never tells me anything, so this is big deal for her & she's asking me to go to the police.

What's the best way forward with this? AIBU to ask the police for advice? We have a station quite close, so not 999 or 111.

OP You can make a report directly to CEOP - the online child exploitation department.

They have heaps of trained advisors to offer advice and support in exactly this situation.

If it needs escalating, they'll do it all for you.

www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/

Hi OP ,

The police will investigate if your child is under 16 and is being asked for sexual images or is being sent sexual images. However please be aware that there may be little the police can do to identify the person.

Firstly your daughter needs to screenshot the messages and also screenshot the profile page of the offender, without this the police have nothing to work with.

Snapchat aren't based in the uk so aren't subject to uk law. The uk police can ask them to provide information but they can chose not to cooperate. They often will cooperate if the investigation relates to sexual images and children, but it can be weeks or months before they respond.

In a nutshell, the police will take it seriously, have your evidence ready, be realistic about what the police can achieve. Once you've gathered the above evidence, block the person.

Absolutely 100% go to the police. Screenshot everything. The fact she is 15 and he is 16 means they will take it seriously and at the very least will be given a stern talking to about the consequences of sexual activity with minors xx

Thanks for all your comments. I spoke to a nice lady at the police station who said that unfortunately there is nothing they can do unless there are pictures/text ie evidence.
My dd has deleted the pic (I've asked her to check her deleted folder & it's gone from there) & she's deleted the msg from him & also blocked him.

If he sends her anything by any other way, I asked DD to screenshot it & alert me. Same with if the boy sheds anything to the girl (who goes to her school) And of course if there is any inappropriate sharing on social media.

Big lesson here for DD & a learning process for us.
Thanks again.

Nickmylipple - thanks have logged a report - very helpful.

Unfortunately OP this is not a rare occurrence. My DDi isnearly 15 and we have a good relationship and she has told me about the boys and girls she knows and there use of snapchat. On Snapchat once a message is opened the message/picture disappears. What both boys and girls I should add do is message multiple people asking for pictures. They will befriend and ask repeatedly over weeks. They may also decide to send a ‘dick’ shot which is popular amongst the boys and girls are doing the upper body. What some do once they receive the photo and before it disappears is screen shot it then send it round there friends. I have discussed this with my DD and she is fully aware of the issues surrounding this and has declined any requests for photos. It’s discussed with the children at school but doesn’t change there usage. I was horrified when I heard that young teens were doing this.

She was dismissive.
The police in my local area would visit your daughter to get as much of the story as possible then visit the lad to put the fear of God into him.
I know this for a fact.

However, they will also (usually) appreciate that young lads can be utter idiots and beg girls for pictures and try all manner of ways to get them, but they don't particularly want a stupid young lad to ruin his life - hence the serious talking to - which is usually enough to scare them witless once it's explained what the consequences of their behaviour COULD be.

If they've had repeated reports - it's another matter, but very often, it's a spotty oik who has been an utter idiot / shit. But it's someone's son too, and the police appreciate this. That's not diminishing the awful thing he's done, it's just how the police will often treat it and deal with it.

What used to be a lad pestering a girl to fondle her then telling his mates about it (because he was immature) has now turned into naked pics and bragging to mates by sharing them. It's the same behaviour with new technology but with far more consequences. This lad needs to be stopped though. If there's any hope for him, he needs to realise the real effect of his actions and realise it NOW. It might be the first time he's done it (infatuated with her) or something he's been doing to others. I am truly surprised the police fobbed you off like that. They can still 'have a word' without evidence. If push came to shove, yes, it would be difficult to prove, without hard evidence, but they can still have a strong word with the lad - and most police would do precisely that. It's usually enough when their parents find out.

Hairy is right - it's commonplace. It seems to be the new 'heavy petting'.
When I was young, a girl could at least 'deny' rumours about how far a lad went with her, but nowadays, that's not the case. I cringe to think about exchanging pics - but I'm not of their generation. Times have changed. (I just happen to think not for the better!)

I'm surprised by the police response. You would get a different service around here. Your daughter knows the name of the boy. I appreciate that is not enough evidence for a prosecution (not that's it's likely to come to that) but it's definitely enough to go and give him some strong words of advice for his own good if nothing else.

Glad your daughter seems to have learnt from this though.

He is asking her for 7 lines of apology because she doesn't want to talk to him & he said she was being rude

I’d go to his Mum if you can. He sounds like an abuser in the making, little shit.

How is your DD now?