What must a judicial police officer confirm after a digital sex crime report before requesting deletion or access blocking, and what material does that request reach?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the report as received, the images or copies said to be circulating, and any record showing they were posted, screened or distributed over an information communication network. We also look for a note that the victim was told how deletion or access blocking would be handled.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading follows the provision as written: on receiving a report of a digital sex crime and confirming that covered materials are being posted, screened or distributed through an information communication network, the judicial police officer must, without delay, ask the review committee and the information communication service providers or bulletin board managers to delete or block access, and, absent special circumstances, guide the victim through the handling procedure.
Another reading marks the limits: the request reaches only the materials the covered items describe, namely a filmed or recorded item or replica including a copy of a copy, and an edited, synthesised, processed or replicated item likewise including a copy of a copy, while the provision leaves open how much confirmation is enough and what circumstances are special enough to excuse the guidance to the victim.
Your judgment
When does a report become a confirmation, and how could a file show that the material at issue is a copy of a copy rather than the original?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We revisit this card if the provision is amended to change which materials it reaches or which bodies must be asked, or if a court decision sets how much confirmation the provision requires.