Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten has promised parliament that police resources dedicated to tackling child pornography will be doubled by August this year.

In a letter to be discussed in parliament on Thursday, he writes that by that time a total of 150 police officers will be working exclusively on child-porn cases.

This national team will comprise 40 detectives and 110 police officers assigned to the 10 regional units of the new national police force which is to become operational later this year.

Mr Opstelten writes that their investigations will focus on producers of child porn as well as their victims. At present most suspects in child-porn cases are accused of possessing this kind of pornography rather than producing or distributing it.

The minister expects the substantial increase in police resources in combination with improved cooperation between government agencies and the introduction of new working methods will yield results. Mr Opstelten writes that he expects the number of arrests to increase by 7.5 percent in 2012, 15 percent in 2013 and 25 percent in 2014.

In his letter, Minister Opstelten promises parliament he will keep close tabs on developments to ensure these promises are kept.

(gsh/tf/imm)

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