Teenagers ‘join forces’ to warn about ‘sexting’ dangers

Cumbria Constabulary has praised students for their successful ‘takeover’ of the ‘cumbriacops’ Snapchat account as part of a campaign to warn teenagers of the dangers of sexting.

It is believed to be the first time in the UK that a police force has handed over control of its Snapchat account to another organisation.

Media students from Carlisle College, aged 16 to 19, used the cumbriacops account for a week to tell the fictional story of a girl who agrees to send her boyfriend a naked photo of herself, and how this results in her being sexually exploited.

In just a few days the cumbriacops account attracted around 500 followers, the majority of whom were teenagers. Most of the ‘snaps’ during the week had hundreds of views.

A cumbriacops Instagram account was also launched during the campaign and gathered more than 200 followers, with 485 people engaging with the main child sexual exploitation post.

Detective Inspector Brian Murray said: “We are delighted with the outcome. It was a big risk handing over control of our account for the week, but the students involved were professional, enthusiastic and did a lot of work in their own time.

“It was important for us to talk to teenagers in their language and on a platform they regularly use. By working with Carlisle College we were able to get young people to speak to young people directly, and get important safety information across.”

He said it is vital that young people realise the risks of sending indecent images and how it can lead to blackmail, bullying and/or exploitation.