New Zealand Police have today become members of the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), an international group that fights online child exploitation.
The agreement was signed by Superintendent Win Van Der Velde at the VGT Board Meeting in Rome.
The VGT is made up of law enforcement agencies from around the world whose primary purpose is to work together to fight online sexual child exploitation wherever it is occurs in the world and to bring offenders to account.
Deputy Commissioner Rob Pope says, "Police is committed to fighting the online exploitation of children and joining the VGT further strengthens our ability to share information with other law enforcement agencies and catch offenders."
Police will collaborate with the VGT through the Online Child Abuse Exploitation Squad (OCEANZ), a specialist team proactively working to save children from online abuse in New Zealand.
"We now look forward to being an active member of the VGT and contributing to the protection of children globally.
"We have strong links with the Department of Internal Affairs and Customs, both integral to this work," says Deputy Commissioner Pope.
The Virtual Global Taskforce is chaired by the Australian Federal Police.
Members include Australian Federal Police, Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (UK), INTERPOL, Italian Postal and Communication Police Service, National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre (Canadian Mounted Police), US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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