The targeted effort involves trawling file-sharing sites using AI tools for known abuse material.
From there, the people who shared the images or videos are identified, says Lena Larsson at the police's national operations department, which has a coordinating role between the country's police regions.
Then you try to prosecute the people who are doing it. It's from the victim's perspective. Once you get your picture online, the abuse never ends, it just continues, Larsson says.
Many want to be caught
So far, the police have cracked down on 33 people. As usual, it's a mixed group of suspected perpetrators, explains Lena Larsson.
There are people from all walks of life - it could be anyone.
Even the reactions when the police knock vary, she says.
A lot of people have wanted to be discovered and admit everything. Then there are those who say that the material was planted on their computer. There's the whole spectrum.
Worrying trend
In recent years, Lena Larsson believes she has seen a worrying development in terms of the material being shared.
Unfortunately, we see that the victims are getting slightly younger, and there is slightly more violence in the images and films that we receive. But it's not surprising; so many people do this and it's so easily accessible, Larsson says.
How important is this type of intervention?
There are two purposes. One is preventive: to make people aware that we are there. This may apply to those who do not have a genuine interest, because those who do have a sexual attraction to children do not care about such efforts. But at the same time, for the sake of the children, we want to prosecute as many as possible.
