It goes away at the police station in Bodø. Experienced hands quickly find the equipment to be included. Handcuffs, pepper spray and a baton are packed. Although virtually everyone in this type of case goes with the police without any problem, they can never be sure what the reaction will be. They prepare for the worst but hope for the best. The pistols are securely locked in the car, and a cardboard box in which computer equipment can be packed is placed in the boot. Everything is ready for departure. A man is to be arrested today. The equipment is made ready for apprehension. Photo: Alexander Kjønsø Karlsen / news Every single day, the police monitor, among other things, file sharing services. Here they get most of what is uploaded and downloaded of abuse material. – The IP address of the accused has appeared. We see that he has downloaded and shared abusive material. That’s what Kristine Stemnes says. She is one of the four investigators who work in the police in Nordland’s so-called Sobi team. Their job is to investigate sexual abuse of children on the internet. – Their work is absolutely crucial All over the country, the police districts have recently put in place their own investigators who work exclusively with this very thing. In Bodø, they established a separate team a year ago. – Their work is absolutely crucial. The development is very positive. We uncover more, and introduce more and more appropriate measures, says Helge Haugland. Helge Haugland is section leader at the section for internet-related abuse at Kripos. He praises the police districts’ efforts to uncover abuse on the internet. Photo: Trond Stenersen / news He is section leader at the section for internet-related abuse at Kripos. This is often where much of the investigation starts. – Sometimes the perpetrators are in front of us, but we find that we are often so close that we manage to expose them. In Nordland, the police have been mapping the man in question for some time. They see that the man has downloaded abuse material over time, they also believe that the man has shared images. – We have managed to secure the material that has been shared, and confirmed that it is abuse material, says Stemnes. To be apprehended Before the action, there is a lot to be planned. In the action meeting before the arrest, they go through every last detail. A passport photo and a profile picture from Facebook appear on the screen in one of the police’s meeting rooms. Around the table sits the entire Sobi team, as well as an investigator who will secure the man’s digital devices. At the end of the table sits the police attorney who is responsible for the case. Everything must work. From left: Kristine Solem Stemnes, Alexander Amundsen, Tor-Henrik Horn and Gerd Emilie Røegh make up the Sobi team at the police in Nordland. Their job is to investigate sexual abuse of children on the internet. Here, the arrest of a man suspected of being in possession of sexual assault material is planned. At the end of the table sits police attorney Torbjørn Sandbu. Photo: Alexander Kjønsø Karlsen / news – The situation is that he is to be arrested and taken to the police station for questioning. The address will then be searched, says Kristine Stemnes. The aim is to get hold of all the computer equipment and telephones the man has. Wants to prevent evidence from being destroyed. It’s a long drive to get to where the man lives. The plan is to arrest him at work. That way, there is the least possible risk of him being able to destroy evidence. They know where he works and what car he drives. But if he is actually at work, they won’t know until they get there. – There is a risk that he is not at work. But they have protected themselves as best they can. They drive two cars to the village. One car should be near the man’s home, while the other drives to work. This gives them the opportunity to quickly call the home address, should it turn out that the man is not at work. – What can go wrong? – It could be that he is notified that we are coming, and then has the opportunity to delete evidence. – Is there any risk for you? – It will always be, you never know. We do research before we go out, but we never know what we will meet and what reactions people will get when we arrive. Is the man at work? . Kristine Solem Stemnes gets the car ready to leave to arrest a man Photo: Alexander Kjønsø Karlsen / news Early one morning, two black civilian police cars drive out of the police station in Bodø, and the journey goes towards a small village in Nordland. The conversation in the car is easy. Although no two arrests are the same, it is almost a routine for Kristine and Alexander. The big question on everyone’s mind is whether he is at work. If his car is not parked outside the workplace, they have decided not to enter. The risk of them being exposed is too great, and they should rather attack the home address first. Alexander Amundsen and Kristine Solem Stemnes sit in the civilian police car on the way to an arrest. Photo: Alexander Kjønsø Karlsen / news The accused’s car is outside the workplace. But is he alone at work? How will he react? Kristine and colleague Alexander Amundsen enter. After a short time they come out with a man between them. – The arrest went very well. He was mostly alone at work. So it was straight in and out again, says Alexander Amundsen when the man is placed in the car. Then the journey returns to the police station in Bodø. Gerd Emilie Røegh greets the man who has been charged with being in possession of sexual assault material. She will interrogate the man. Photo: Alexander Kjønsø Karlsen / news Accepted imprisonment The man has now been remanded in custody for two weeks, with letter and visit control. According to the imprisonment order, the man must have used online services which, according to the police’s experience, can be used to share abuse material. In questioning, the man allegedly admitted that he had searched for abuse material. – It is further indicated that the accused’s acknowledgment of having searched for illegal material, together with the discovery of VPN and encryption protocols, indicates that the accused has tried to evade that his activity on the internet could be tracked, the ruling states. The man’s defender, lawyer Tor Haug, says that the man has not decided on the question of guilt yet. But he agreed to detention. Lawyer Tor Haug is defending the man Photo: Andreas Nilsen Trygstad / news The police are in the process of securing evidence. – Based on what we have found so far, it is likely that the charge will be extended, says police attorney Torbjørn Sandbu. – To what? – I don’t want to go into that now. The police asked for detention so that they could secure all accounts on social media. – The police aim to secure all information before the period of imprisonment expires, so as of now there does not seem to be a need to extend the detention beyond this. THE SOBI TEAM IN NORDLAND: From left: Alexander Amundsen and Kristine Solem Stemnes, Gerd Emilie Røegh and Tor-Henrik Horn make up the Sobi team at the police in Nordland. Their job is to investigate sexual abuse of children on the internet. Photo: Ola Helness / news Important The police have an increasing number of cases involving sexual abuse of children on the internet. A few years ago, Kripos forwarded around 500 such cases to the districts a year. In 2022, the number approached 3,000. And Kripos clearly sees that the police districts take matters seriously. – It is slightly different how it is organized in the districts, but the development is very positive, says Helge Haugland – So you see results? – We do that. The police have many ways in which they uncover perpetrators. – We have many preventive measures, and cooperate with Interpol when it comes to identifying victims and perpetrators. And we are closely abreast of technological developments when it comes to encrypted services and how we will be able to read that information so that we can identify the people we want to identify. – But won’t the aggressors be a horse’s head in front of you? – At times they are, but we often find that we are so close that we manage to uncover it in most cases, he says. Do you need to talk to someone after reading this story? Acute suicide risk? Call 113 when it is urgent and your life is at stake. Call the emergency room on tel. 116117 for immediate assistance. On your municipality’s website, you can see which low-threshold offers are available where you live. Other help offers:
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Arrest of man who allegedly downloaded abuse material on the internet – news Nordland
