Latest news with #BBCScotlandNews
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
The police job that is beyond the stuff of nightmares
David Murray's office has a warning on its door: "Please be aware: child sexual abuse material being viewed in this room." The detective constable spends hours examining pictures and watching videos, the worst of which are beyond the stuff of nightmares. He puts himself through it because he knows the job is important. The father of two young boys admits it takes its toll, yet he wishes he had started the job far earlier in his policing career to make a difference. He says it's worth it, because every week he and his colleagues are identifying young victims, and protecting them from further abuse. Earlier this week, Police Scotland invited BBC Scotland News to witness its work demonstrating the change in offending behaviour since the Covid pandemic, revealing that paedophiles were making direct contact with children online within 30 seconds of trying. David was the first victim identification officer to work with Police Scotland's national child abuse investigation unit. After four years, he now has three colleagues and an ever increasing workload. The unit is conducting 700 inquiries a year and executing 15 to 20 search warrants every week, seizing dozens of devices from the homes of suspects. The job of the victim identification officers is to examine images and footage found on these phones and laptops, to try to find children who've been abused. According to Interpol, online child sexual abuse is one of the rare crime areas where police officers start with the evidence and work their way back to the crime scene. Once images are found, the victim identification specialists take over, combing through the images with the objective of removing the child from harm and arresting the abuser. But their workload is increasing as fast as they can get through them. David says: "Four years ago we were identifying approximately 25 to 30 victims a year. We're doing more than ten times that now." Shockingly, the victims are close to home. "Last year we identified nearly 400 victims and 90% of those children are from Scotland. "When I started, I thought it was a problem that was far away, but it's on our doorstep. It's children in our community." The contents of the devices are uploaded to the UK-wide child abuse image database. If they've been discovered before, they don't have to be viewed again, but if they're new, they're classed as "first generation" images and checked by David and his colleagues. The grim reality of that is that much of the abuse takes place within households where the perpetrator knows the victim. That means devices can include pictures of normal family life, providing a horrifying contrast to the images of abuse and vital information for the detectives. "Essentially we start looking for clues in the pictures as to where this footage was taken, things like plug sockets or bits of clothing, maybe school uniforms and football strips, anything that would perhaps indicate where the child lives," says David. "A lot of our identifications are made from non-indecent images." One victim was recently traced in Glasgow after a detective recognised a water tower in the background of a selfie. Steps are taken to safeguard children who've been identified, in conjunction with outside agencies such as social work. The most extreme images and videos viewed by David and his colleagues plumb the depths of depravity. He agrees they have to switch off their own emotions. Police Scotland monitors the wellbeing of officers in this type of work and there are strict rules to limit how much time they spend looking at the material. They're not allowed to view it in the first or last hour of their shift, and one day a week is spent working from home, catching up on admin and emails. "It's just a case of prioritising and laying out your day," David says. "We start with a briefing every morning and we've got quite a substantial workload, and we just work our way through it the best we can. "There are wellbeing measures in place and talking to counsellors and other people about what you're feeling and seeing can help unlock things." Every week he and his colleagues walk past that warning on their office doors. "We are reviewing footage of something that's already happened to these children," says David. "But when we identify them and put the safeguarding measures in place, that's the most satisfying part of the job. "I used to work in other areas of policing, like serious and organised crime and drug enforcement but I can honestly say that now kind of pales into insignificance. "It doesn't compare to putting measures in place to make a child safe." A soft knock - how police arrest a suspected paedophile
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
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Police 'increasingly concerned' for missing Cole Cooper
Police are becoming "increasingly concerned" for a teenager who has been missing for three weeks. Cole Cooper, 19, was last seen at about 20:45 on 7 May in Longcroft, Falkirk, near his home village of Banknock. Ch Insp Alex Hatrick told BBC Scotland News Cole's disappearance was being treated as a missing persons case and there was no evidence to suggest he had come to harm. Since the final sighting officers have conducted door-to-door inquiries at more than 200 homes and obtained over 1,000 hours of CCTV. Members of Cole's family have told BBC Scotland News his lack of contact with them is highly unusual and they fear he has come to some kind of harm. Ch Insp Hatrick, local area commander, told BBC Scotland News: "Just like Cole's family we are increasingly concerned for Cole's whereabouts. "The family are obviously deeply devastated, they are looking for answers as to what has happened to Cole, as are the police. "At this time this is very much a missing persons inquiry. "There is no evidence to suggest Cole has come to harm but we will explore all avenues, all lines of inquiry. Our focus is very much on tracing Cole." 3 May: Cole was on a night out with friends. 4 May: He was captured on CCTV multiple times around Nisbet Drive, Longcroft Road and Hogan Path in the early hours of Sunday morning. He was seen approaching the door of his father's house at 05:49 before leaving four minutes later. The last CCTV footage of Cole was at 06:00 on Cumbernauld Road. 7 May: A witness said they saw Cole at around 20:45 on the A803 at the Intersection with Cumbernauld Road, Longcroft. 9 May: Cole is reported missing. Ch Insp Hatrick said police believe the last sighting of Cole on the evening of 7 May, reported by a witness who knew him. The witness told officers that he did not have any concerns for Cole. He told them Cole had asked for a lift and then "went on his way". Cole is described as about 5ft 10in, of medium build with short brown hair. He was last seen wearing a black puffer-style jacket with black jogging bottoms. But Cole's family are treating the earlier CCTV footage - captured on 4 May - as the last confirmed sighting of the missing teenager. Brother Connor told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme they were hoping "no news is good news" but were becoming increasingly worried. He said: "We are coming up to a month now which does make me think, has he come to some sort of harm? "I don't know what type of harm but I do think that something must have happened and somebody knows something. "We are mentally preparing for the worst but we are also hoping and praying for the best outcome which is him coming home safely." The family organised a community-led search for the teenager on Saturday and Sunday, with around 200 people helping looking for Cole. "We don't want to sit back and do nothing. Even if we need to search the same area a hundred more times, we will," Connor added. Cole had been living in Falkirk and is known to have links to the Denny, Cumbernauld and Paisley areas. A major search involving helicopters and drones was launched last week scouring Banknock, also in Falkirk, and the dive and marine unit have been involved. Police are asking for anyone who was in the Glasgow Road area around the time Cole was last seen to contact them via an online portal. They are also urging locals to to check their outbuildings and sheds. Family and friends lead search for missing Falkirk teenager 'All I want is the safe return of my gorgeous, fun-loving boy'
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Health
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A soft knock - how police arrest a suspected paedophile
It's 07:35 in a smart suburban housing estate in central Scotland and the police are about to turn a family's life upside down. Three detectives in plain clothes park their unmarked car near a large detached house and knock on the front door. A dishevelled man suspected of sexual communication with a 13-year-old girl answers and, after a brief discussion about their search warrant, the officers go in. What we're watching is a "soft" approach, the polar opposite of a drugs raid. No hard knock, no battering ram, no shouts of "police". Their tactics mean the peace and quiet of the neighbourhood continues uninterrupted. But inside the house the ripple effects of the unannounced visit are devastating. How victims shone a light on 'beastie house' child abuse ring Prison officer caught in 13-year-old girl chat sting The man's partner is told why the police are there. The couple's children want to know who the strangers are and the officers try to calm everyone down. One of the detectives, Joseph Wilson, said: "The only thing I can compare it to in policing is delivering a death message. "You're telling them the person isn't who they thought they were." Police Scotland's national child abuse investigation unit invited BBC Scotland News to witness its work amidst a marked change in offending behaviour since the Covid pandemic. Det Ch Insp Mike Smith said paedophiles were making "extremely dangerous" direct contact with children online more than ever before. And he warned they could do so within 30 seconds of trying. What happens next can include grooming the child, coercing them to send indecent images - which are often shared with other paedophiles - and persuading them to meet up. These encounters frequently lead to sexual abuse. Det Ch Insp Smith said the perception of online sex offenders as uploaders or downloaders of child sexual abuse material was outdated. Nearly every case now involves direct contact with a child, with offenders using a range of platforms from social media to streaming. "For those people who have a deviant sexual interest in children, it's easier than ever to go online and engage with a child," he said. "You can probably do it within 30 seconds, depending on the platform. "That's the reality of what we have seen from investigations over the last three years." The unit carries out 700 child sexual abuse investigations a year - an increase of 30% since 2015. Every year, its officers are taking steps to safeguard between 600 and 800 children, almost all of them in Scotland. "People based in Scotland are offending against Scottish children," said Det Chief Insp Smith. "It's a lot closer to home these days. It's on our doorstep." "We are actioning between 15 to 20 search warrants on a weekly basis across Scotland. "Let's be perfectly blunt about it - the demand is through the roof." The offenders are almost always male and come from all walks of life, including teachers, lawyers and police officers. Det Insp Michelle Burns, one of the unit's senior investigating officers, said: "My team have told me of occasions where they've went in, and someone has admitted to it and said it was a relief that the police were at their door. "They've been doing it for a period of time and they were looking for help." Many of the cases come through referrals from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, an American organisation which receives alerts from the tech industry. Investigations are prioritised on the basis of the risk to children, either within the offender's household or the wider community. When they execute the search warrant, the police have to gather evidence, arrest the suspect, safeguard any children who are there and do what they can to minimise the impact on the rest of the family. At the address in central Scotland, Det Con Helena Scott took devices from the house to a specially-equipped van where their contents were forensically examined. "The problem we have with this type of crime is it's relentless," she said. "You feel like you're making a difference and the next day you come in, the pile just gets higher and higher and higher, because there are more and more offenders out there and it's not slowing down. "Children should have the right to use online platform without them and their parents worrying about strangers trying to take advantage of their vulnerabilities for their own sexual gratification." As the team continues its work, children in neighbouring homes start to leave to go to school. A resident approaches the detectives to ask what is going on. They reassure her they are police officers but reveal nothing beyond that. Det Con Scott recalled another case where the suspect's partner asked how long she had to move house, before the local community found out what had happened. She said: "The hardest part of our job is dealing with the families, because there's only ever one person responsible for what brings us to the door. "You're effectively turning lives upside down. "It has a huge impact on us as well because it's difficult for us to see it unravel." Det Ch Insp Smith said online platforms need to do far more to prevent paedophiles making contact with children. He said: "Whilst we don't want to place the onus of responsibility on the child, we have to educate our children to be safe online and just like the physical world, one of the key aspects of that is that you shouldn't be engaging with someone you don't know. "I do believe it should be a lot harder for a child to be able to engage with a random person online. "There's responsibility on tech, there's responsibility on government, there's responsibility on the police to make the online world safer. "But there has to be an understanding that this is a global worldwide problem and therefore we need as a society to change the way we view the internet." A few hours after they arrived, the detectives led the 43-year-old man out of the house in handcuffs to be driven to a police station in Falkirk. It is the start of a long legal journey which will eventually establish guilt or innocence. The man was charged in connection with sexual communications and will appear in court at a later date.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Stop using my voice' - New train announcer is my AI clone
A woman who believes her voice has been used to create ScotRail's new AI-generated announcement system is calling for it to be removed from trains. ScotRail recently introduced a synthetic Scottish voice to make onboard announcements in place of pre-recorded human announcers. Voiceover artist Gayanne said the artificial announcer - which is marketed as an imaginary character called Iona - was trained by Swedish technology firm ReadSpeaker using her voice. ReadSpeaker told BBC Scotland News it had already addressed Gayanne's concerns "several times". ScotRail said it had no plans to remove "Iona" and the dispute was between the company and the voiceover artist. Gayanne said she did some work for ReadSpeaker in 2021 which she was told would be used for accessibility and e-learning software. But two years later, when the job was largely forgotten, a friend sent her a link to ReadSpeaker's website. Gayanne opened the page to find Iona - a text-to-speech programme marketed as a red haired woman standing in a Scottish glen. "It is my voice - I'm absolutely certain it's my voice,' she said. "I was horrified - the quality of it was dreadful." Last week Gayanne discovered the voice was being introduced across ScotRail after reading a BBC Scotland online story. It told how some passengers had expressed unhappiness with the new artificial announcer. One passenger said: "It was weird. I could tell it was AI because it sounded so robotic." Gayanne, who said she had been in dispute with ReadSpeaker for two years, revealed that after reading the online story she burst into tears. 'Give it time' - ScotRail defends AI announcer Iona "After the years that I've gone through to try to have my data removed - it's still being used," she said. "I also have to look on social media and see people mocking it, berating it. "They don't realise it's actually a real person who's been put through a dreadful voice app." Gayanne added: "It's hard enough for people in the creative industry to sustain careers but to be competing with a robotic version of yourself just adds insult to injury." ReadSpeaker markets its products, including Iona, as an "AI voice generator," but it said all of its programmes are based on "human voice talent". The firm uses a text-to-speech model, that means a user can type anything and Iona will read it out loud. The technology uses artificial intelligence learning but AI needs something to learn from. In this instance, it is voice recordings of an accent or language it is trying to emulate. In response to Gayanne's complaints, the tech firm said: "ReadSpeaker is aware of Ms Potter's concerns, and has comprehensively addressed these with Ms Potter's legal representative several times in the past." Jennifer Cass, a partner at law firm Dentons, said there was a gap when it came to some protections against AI usage. She said copyright extended to literary and artistic works but not "likeness or image". "At the moment, there is no protection for image and voice in the UK," Ms Cass said. "It is something that is being considered in the context of the AI copyright consultation which recently closed." Ms Cass added: "There is a question about whether copyright should be expanded to cover likeness and image and to prevent the creation of digital replicas as well." Liam Budd is an industrial official for recorded media at UK trade union Equity, which represents 50,000 workers throughout the creative industries. He said: "Sadly this is just one example of many performers who have their image or voice used to generate digital replicas without their full or informed consent. "This is a real concern. "Our members are effectively competing in a marketplace with AI systems that have been trained on their own image and voice without their consent. "Their likeness is effectively being hijacked." Gayanne said that AI had developed massively in the past four years and a lot of historical contracts were not fit for purpose. She added: "Why would I give my voice away that was going to do me out of work forever? That's nuts." Gayanne also believed that her work should be covered by GDPR - UK and EU data protection regulations - and that her consent should have been required for ReadSpeaker to sell a commercial programme. She contacted the Information Commissioner's Office, the regulatory body which advises on data protection rights established by UK law. But it said that the case was outside its jurisdiction as the data was controlled by ReadSpeaker. Gayanne said she was now asking her lawyers to approach ScotRail to request the announcements be removed. She said: "If ScotRail want to do the right thing, I'm happy to do their voice announcements. "At least I know how to say Milngavie." Elton John brands government 'losers' over AI copyright plans Artists release silent album in protest against AI using their work
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man slashed by masked gang outside home as feud escalates
A man has been attacked by a masked gang outside a house in Edinburgh, in the latest hit in an escalating gangland feud. Four or five men emerged from a grey Land Rover Discovery and slashed the 54-year-old victim on Pitcairn Grove, at about 21:20 on Thursday. It is the third incident at the property after the front door was deliberately set on fire last month and two vehicles were torched on 8 May. Police said the attempted murder was linked to a series of assaults, shootings and firebombings across Glasgow and Edinburgh since March. More stories from Edinburgh, Fife & East More stories from Scotland More than 30 arrests have been made in total, including three men charged with fire-raising at a property near the latest gangland hit in Pitcairn Grove on 8 May. Following the slashing attack, the 54-year-old man was taken was taken to hospital and remains there but police have not provided any details about his condition. BBC Scotland News understands a bladed weapon was involved in the attack and newspaper reports have suggested it was a machete. Officers have established that the Land Rover travelled east along the M8, possibly at speed or "erratically". Any drivers who were on the motorway around the time of the attack have been urged to contact the force's non-emergency line. Police said the suspects were all wearing balaclavas and dressed in dark clothing. Det Supt Paul Grainger said: "This has been a targeted attack and we are continuing our inquiries to identify those responsible. "I would appeal to any motorists with dash cams to check their footage as the images could be significant to our investigation." Anyone with information can also contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. A number of violent incidents have been linked to the feud, including an attack at a garage in East Kilbride this week. Three men wearing dark clothes and face coverings are believed to have assaulted another two men in the town's Wilson Place on Monday afternoon. A blue Audi, found on fire later that evening, was likely used during the assault. Meanwhile, four more men have been arrested in connection with fire-raising at properties in Edinburgh and Lanarkshire. The men, three aged 18 and one aged 31, are expected to appear in court on Monday in connection with the fire-raising in Pitcairn Grove in Edinburgh on 8 May. They were arrested after warrants were issued at properties in Edinburgh, Whitburn and Bathgate. One of the 18-year-olds and the 31-year-old man have also been arrested and charged in connection with fire-raising at a business premises on Cumbernauld Road in Stepps on the same date. Police probe whether fire attack linked to gang feud Firebombs and masked attacks - how a gangland feud escalated
