WEBSITE USED BY TEENS TO GET DRUGS

Nelson teenagers are using the social networking Internet site Bebo
to find drug dealers and offer sexual favours in exchange for alcohol
and drugs, police say.

The Nelson CIB and Youth Aid say the popular site is cropping up
again and again in cases involving sex, drugs and bullying.

Nelson Youth Aid officer Constable Kathy Pomfrett said that while
most teenagers used Bebo safely and like a chatroom, a growing number
were using it to trade in sexual favours.

Bebo is a website where users can build their own home page, upload
photographs and communicate with other members. The information can
be easily viewed by the public if privacy conditions are not applied.

Miss Pomfrett said teenage girls in Nelson were putting nude photos
of themselves on the site and offering a range of sexual favours in
return for alcohol and drugs ranging from cannabis to methamphetamine.

In doing so, they were putting too much personal information in a
shared public space and placing themselves at risk, she said.

Miss Pomfrett would not comment on how many cases Nelson Youth Aid
had encountered, but said the "increasing amount" had made police
very concerned.

She said it was common for teenagers to use the site to discuss where
they could get drugs from in Nelson, and where parties would be held.

Detective Constable Aaron Kennaway said the Nelson CIB was well aware
that teenagers used the site to swap stories about where they could buy drugs.

He said he was investigating a sexual violation case in Nelson where
there was a possibility that the alleged offender had obtained
contact details for the young teenage complainant from her Bebo home page.

Mr Kennaway said parents should keep home computers in an open,
shared space, check the details their children put on the Bebo site,
and remove home addresses or phone numbers.

Youth Aid officer Senior Constable Greg Allen said most Nelson
teenagers would have a Bebo home page, but they usually lost interest
in the site by the time they were 19 or 20.

He said cyber-bullying through Bebo was a growing concern. "There is
some pretty nasty character assassinating going on."

Threats and challenges were placed on the site, and police had been
to at least one incident where a group of teens had gathered looking
for a fight after contacting each other through Bebo, he said.

Miss Pomfrett said she had contacted Nelson schools to discuss the
possibility of Bebo being banned from school computers.

However, many students would have enough computer knowledge to get on
to the site if they really wanted to.

Cyber-safety education provider Netsafe said it received weekly calls
from people with similar concerns to those voiced in Nelson.

Spokeswoman Rachel Harrison said anyone who signed up to Bebo agreed
to terms and conditions stating they were aged over 13, would not
publish objectionable material, and would abide by other conditions.

She said producing obscene material was illegal in New Zealand, and
teenagers needed to be aware that they could be breaking the law
through what they uploaded.

She said websites were accesible from any gaming console, at Internet
cafes and via cellphones, so banning them at home or in schools was
not the answer to parents' fears.

The Nelson Mail is awaiting a response from Bebo, but the terms and
conditions on its website state that it must not be used for illegal activity.

The site said it could remove inappropriate material, but had no
obligation to do so or to monitor use of the service.

In July, Bebo launched the website www.bebosafety.com. It features a
range of educational resources, videos and animations aimed to help
promote "safe and responsible social networking".

International Internet analyst comScore said that 582,000 different
Internet users aged 15 and over from New Zealand logged on to Bebo in March.