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Crime Prevention Segment – Online Safety

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

On this month’s Crimecall, Sergeant John Fitzpatrick was in studio discussing Online Safety and advice.

Safer Internet Day takes place on the 10th of February 2026, this initiative is to promote a safer internet for all users, especially young people. Safer Internet Day has become a global landmark event in the online safety calendar with this being its 23rd year. The theme of the event is AI Aware: Safe, Smart and in Control.  Online activity is very much a part of our children and teens lives, with children and teens spending more time online.

 

While the internet undoubtedly presents fantastic opportunities for children, it is equally clear that there is a real opportunity for children and teens to be put at risk by their exposure to material such as cyber bullying, violent graphic content, fake news, hate speech, pornography, online child sex abuse material and/or individuals which may be harmful.

 

How can parents get involved?

  • Parents have an important role in supporting their child online.
  • Get started by checking out the free resources, advice and practical guides on the Webwise Parents Hub including the NEW Parents Guide to GenAI, and there’s also information on ISPCC Digital Ready Hub.
  • Start the conversation, agree rules/expectations – and check in.
  • Reassure them that if something happens online that they can come talk to you and you’ll work it out. Often children don’t tell if something happens as they worry their phone will be taken away. So, establishing this from the start is important.
  • Report illegal and harmful content to An Garda Síochána at the earliest opportunity and you can also report to Hotline.ie.

Through the Garda Schools Programme Gardaí are providing internet safety talks to students.

Primary School

1) Lesson: ‘Be Kind Online’

The Garda Schools Programme lesson, ‘Be Kind Online’ helps students to understand what is ‘Cyberbullying’. This lesson informs students of how ‘Cyberbullying’ can hurt others and how it can be prevented. The ‘Be Kind Online’ lesson promotes respectful communication online and aims to foster a sense of care and respect for others online.  This lesson has been developed for 3rd or 4th class pupils, (primary school) and has been developed in partnership with Webwise.

Secondary School

2) Lesson: ‘Connect with Respect’ 

The Garda Schools Programme lesson ‘Connect with Respect’, addresses the topic of, ‘Cyberbullying’. This lesson is aimed at helping students to recognise that, ‘Online Harassment’ and ‘Cyberbullying’ is not acceptable and in some cases can be a, criminal offence. This lesson is designed to help secondary students between the ages of 12 to 14 years of age and has been developed in partnership with Webwise.

3) Lesson: ‘Be in Ctrl’

The Garda Schools Programme lesson, ‘Be in Ctrl’ focuses on the online sexual coercion and extortion of young people by adults.  This lesson aims to educate secondary students on appropriate online behaviour and developing a culture of reporting concerns, while also fostering empathy, respect and resilience.  This lesson is designed to help secondary students between the ages of 12 to 14 years of age and has been developed in partnership with Webwise.

4) Lesson: ‘What is Coco’s law?’

What is Coco’s law? is a new Garda Schools Programme lesson that has been developed in relation to ‘Coco’s Law’. This lesson explores the ‘Harassment’, ‘Harmful Communications’ and Related Offences Act 2020 and highlights its legal consequences for young people.  The ‘What is Coco’s law?’ lesson is designed for first and second year Secondary students and has been developed in partnership with Webwise. This lesson is designed to help secondary students.

With the rapid evolution of internet technology, through internet on mobile phones, tablets, gaming consoles, it is important to understand that access to the internet is becoming increasingly diverse and therefore increasingly difficult to supervise.

Broadly speaking the key areas of concern that parents should be aware of are as follows:

  • Anonymous Nature - Parents should be aware that by its nature the Internet allows users to retain their anonymity, particularly in the context of chat rooms and instant messaging. It’s important that children are taught to understand that people they are in contact with may not be what they seem and never arrange to meet up with people they don’t know, that they have met in a chat room, without an adult or guardian present.
  • Security Issues - Increasingly young people are placing large amounts of personal information on the internet, whether it’s through profiles on social networking sites or disclosing information in conversations in chat rooms. The disclosure of such information may leave them at risk of the information being used by others to perpetrate fraudulent actions in their names.
  • Cyberbullying – parents should be aware of the potential risk of individuals using the various types of internet technology and/or materials from the internet for defamatory purposes.
  • Parents should speak to their children about the risks of going online so that their child is comfortable telling them when something goes wrong.
  • Parents should monitor the devices their children have access to, see who they interact with and online chat rooms.
  • If a child, or any person, is subject to online abuse or exploitation, we would encourage them to report it to their local Garda Station so that we can help.

Coimisiún na Meán has been established further to the provisions of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022.

Coimisiún na Meán is responsible for Ireland’s Online Safety Framework. This framework makes digital services accountable for how they protect people, especially children, from harm online.

Spot it. Flag it. Stop it. If you spot illegal content online, please report it to the platform where you saw it. Platforms have to remove content that is illegal and diligently apply their own rules about acceptable content. 

Some further additional resources are available on;

  • Webwise Parents Hub
  • ISPCC Digital Hub
  • Coco’s Law
  • “Pause Before You Post” Awareness Campaign
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QL1FmBaof8