Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
School is back and police have one request: "Respect your mates, don't share their nudes."
In a statement, detective senior sergeant Kepal Richards from the Online Child Exploitation Across New Zealand team said police were seeing an increase of reports about young people sharing naked images - known as "nudes" - of their friends, other young people or teens they do not know shared online.
Richards said these images that are shared on social media get reported to the United States-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) because they are identified as child exploitation material which is illegal to produce, possess or distribute.
The information from NCMEC is then shared to the NZ Police, Department of Internal Affairs and NZ Customs.
Richards said: "While we advocate young people don't share naked images of themselves, we know it happens.
"f you receive a nude of another young person, don't be part of the cycle and post it somewhere else.
"Delete the message, be kind, and think about how you would feel if the image was of you."
Richards said his team was receiving multiple tips from NCMEC each week related to naked images and they were investigated on a case-by-case basis.
Some actions police can take include welfare visits to those involved and discussions with school staff where appropriate.
Where such incidents can be reported:
- New Zealand Police - 105 (non-Emergency) or 111 (Emergency)
- Netsafe - text 'Netsafe' to 4282 or email help@netsafe.org.nz, call toll free on 0508 NETSAFE (0508 638 723) or online report form at netsafe.org.nz/report. The helpline is open from 8am - 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am - 5pm on weekends.