Summary
David Murray is a victim identification officer in Scotland who works with a team to identify and protect child abuse victims. This work involves examining images and videos to find and help children who are in danger, with the number of identified victims in Scotland rising significantly over the years.
Key Facts
- David Murray is Scotland's first victim identification officer with Police Scotland.
- His job involves viewing disturbing images to identify and help abuse victims.
- Police Scotland invited BBC Scotland News to observe their work, showing a rise in online child abuse since the COVID pandemic.
- The national child abuse investigation unit conducts about 700 investigations each year.
- The team serves 15 to 20 search warrants weekly, seizing devices from suspects’ homes.
- The number of identified victims has increased from 25-30 per year to nearly 400.
- About 90% of the identified victims are from Scotland, highlighting the local nature of the issue.
- Victim identification officers use clues from images to trace victims, like clothing or landmarks.
