The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) says because of improper and unmonitored Internet use among children, it has noticed a link between social media and human trafficking.

At the same time, the force says it also suspects that recent missing people cases stem from connections made with perpetrators on social media sites.

“On trends, I believe that there is a close relationship between social media and, of course, missing persons. We see a lot of youngsters… they meet anonymous persons online, not knowing who they are communicating with. We have had cases where young persons, schoolchildren have lost their lives, some are missing and have not returned, but we’re still happy that we do have some level of skillset to assist in locating persons who become missing,” Deputy Superintendent Warren Williams, head of the Communications, Forensic and Cybercrimes Division at the JCF, told the Jamaica Observer in an interview.

“The more persons are online, the more they meet persons online, they share a lot of personal information. Not only in meeting, but, of course, the Instagram, all of these popular social media.”

Williams, who was addressing Jamaica Observer reporters during Flow’s Safer Internet think tank, last Thursday, said the division is also aware of an association fostering human trafficking of youngsters in Jamaica.

“A lot of persons talk about fishing and sexual grooming. Youngsters get online and they are engaged in arguments and directions that are not appropriate. They [traffickers] get these youngsters to showcase their body parts and all kinds of things. Sometimes they are trafficked, or their body parts are trafficked to all kinds of employment outside of Jamaica, which is not fit for their age group. We are seeing cases like these and it’s quite a concern,” he told the Sunday Observer.

“We have incidents where persons have been identified, but the challenge is that sometimes we need persons that are outside of the Jamaican jurisdiction, and the investigation will take a little while and it becomes a little more technical to perpetrators,” he stated further.

Kisha Shaw-Riley, clinical psychologist at the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), told the Sunday Observer that this reality demands increased parental supervision.

“We as human beings long for a sense of connection and connectivity with other people and what we’re seeing today with the emergence of this dominance in this cyberspace is that people and children are feeling like they have more of an avenue to connect, but it’s kinda superficial because the connection is not really real,” she said.

“Inside cyberspace, you don’t know who you are connecting with. So, there really is a concern because persons can present to be one thing and then in truth, they are the monster behind the wall that you do not want to be near to. So, it goes right back to parents knowing their children, understanding their need for this level of connection and monitoring them as much as is possible.”

The limits and the boundaries in the cyberspace, she added, are blurred.

“There are no physical walls to protect your children anymore when they are online. Parents have to know that they have to take all the necessary steps and precautions to protect their children. It’s difficult to do that online and sadly, that’s the time when some parents want to relax or be at ease. They put the children online and they (parents) are able to do other stuff.”

Shaw-Riley added: “The stronger the relationship between the child and the parent, and their healthy family social network outside of the cyberspace, then the less likely a child will be pulled in to this ugly, morbid world that can exist out there.”

But Stephen Price, vice-president and country manager at communications and technology company at Flow Jamaica, told the Sunday Observer that in order to guide children where cybersecurity is concerned, the older population will have to understand that they have to “stay ahead of this game.”

“Our children know far more than we do in terms of the technology. Parents, caregivers really have to really come up the curve in terms of understanding. We give these children PS4s (PlayStation), PS5s, these games, and we don’t know about the kinds of communication that’s happening within the game itself.

“Somebody playing Fortnite (a communication-based game) and not knowing what kinda communication is happening with adults and your kids. You think it’s just a gaming world but it’s a lot more in terms of those kinda communications and that kind of information.”

Price added that digital parenting is a must.

“About 80 per cent of hacking is social engineering. So, people see what’s posted, what kids post online, what they’re doing. And because of this culture of sharing so much of your life out there, we have to make sure as parents and guardians that we control that for our children. It is an easy way for people to find out where you live and all these kinds of things. It’s really incumbent on solid parenting.”

Williams agreed, adding that the same goes for policing.

“We have a sworn duty to serve and protect the people of Jamaica, not only in the physical state, but also in the digital realm of things. What is happening now is that traditional incidents or crimes are now being transferred into a non-traditional way of doing things. Persons now have at their fingertips, tablets, computers and the Internet, to do their nefarious activity.

“Other than moving out of their bedroom or their space, they can stay anywhere across the globe and do that. These youngsters tend to volunteer a lot of sensitive information about themselves, where they live, what they do, when they’re leaving their house and what they’re doing. This is good information for criminal networks. The children get up to all sorts of stuff. When they are online, the whole world is open to them through this small window of a device and they are exposed,” he said.

Meanwhile, Felipe Ruiz, vice-president and chief information security officer at Liberty Latin America (LLA), argued that children ought to be able to operate with a great amount of consciousness and security in the cyberspace.

“Teaching them to protect themselves is the most important thing. We can monitor our children, but the most important thing is the education. We can have all technical controls, but if you don’t educate children, you have a big problem. Our children, our young people, are the priority. We need to give them the training they need to identify the threats we have on the Internet. Young people need to understand what is fishing, what is grooming,” he told the Sunday Observer.

LLA observed Safer Internet Day on Wednesday, February 9, as its subsidiaries across Latin America and the Caribbean promote the need for safe access for all. The day was observed internationally under the theme, ‘Together for a better Internet’.

Flow, a subsidiary of LLA, extended the period of recognition and will observe Safer Internet Week from February 8-12, with several activities geared at increasing the awareness of safe online practices among young people and seniors.