Child porn crimes are on the rise, fuelled by the internet. BBC Crime correspondent Neil Bennett looks at how the problem can be tackled.

A rise of 1500 per cent in child porn crimes sounds quite dramatic. Is measuring the problem from 1988 a valid way to assess whether the problem is getting much worse?

The only way in fact because the laws on child pornography were not in place until 1988. Before that it was not an offence to possess pornographic images of children.

The major internet providers say they are taking steps to combat the problem - such as offences committed in chat rooms - are these measures not working?

The police believe that the ISPs and other companies in the industry could be doing much more. For example, developing web crawler software which can seek out known images or tackling the encryption methods which paedophiles use to conceal their activities.

Given the scale of the problem do the police have the resources they need to deal with it?

No they don't. They are already overwhelmed with investigations under Operation Ore and it is very time-consuming and labour-intensive work.

Are the police satisfied they have the powers they need to deal with the problem or do they think the government has to do more?

The police are confident that the powers they now have - which have recently been extended - are adequate. It is the resources issue which is critical.

Is it normal for users who access child porn sites to go on and become actual abusers?