A Royal Gibraltar Police survey on internet use among children has revealed that hundreds of local kids have had online chats with total strangers. The RGP, with the approval of the Department for Education, carried out a survey on internet safety among school children in 2013. This survey consisted of an anonymous questionnaire among Primary and Secondary school children. It should be noted that the Primary school children were aged between 10 and 11 years.

Questions of internet safety were the main concerns of this survey, the results of which can be seen on this table.

The use of the internet as a research tool for students is to be expected but the use of this for unsupervised chatting with strangers is of concern.

The RGP urges parents to exercise caution and supervise their children’s use of the internet in order to ensure a safe internet surfing environment for them.

It should be noted that a number of children do share passwords with their parents, no doubt at the insistence of the parents themselves. This will ensure that parents can always check what their children have been viewing or engaged in whilst online.

The web contains a wealth of very useful information but also contains material, including videos, that can be detrimental and dangerous, particularly to young children.

The RGP has produced and distributed a booklet entitled ‘Surf Safe’ with a view to assisting parents in understanding and minimising the dangers associated with the Internet use by their children.

Should any parent have any concerns or require any information or assistance in this matter they can contact the RGP’s Crime Prevention & Reduction Unit on + 350 200 72500 or by email [email protected]