Like almost all countries, we (the Netherlands) also search for the best way to deal with the large number of NCMEC reports of possible CSAM that we receive each year. We choose to focus on cases where we see abuse happening or key players involved. As a result, we are left with many cases that appear to contain little and already known material. There are, of course, many reasons why it is important to do something about these cases as well. That is why we came up with the in-person warning calls.

The concept of this approach is based on criminological theories (recidivism, situational crime prevention and routine activities). In collaboration with the community officers, we visited more than 200 addresses (in 2 years) for warning calls. We combined these warning calls with a media campaign to generate as much publicity as possible. With the key message: "You are not safe behind your keyboard", we warned all the suspects we had not yet visited. The aim was to increase the suspects' perception of the risk. We also referred all suspects to Stop It Now for help with their deviant behavior.

We have multiple results starting with the suspects’ reactions during the actual visits. Next to that the media campaign generated a lot of attention, in written media and on national television. We also saw that it was being discussed online in many places, including on the darkweb.

The organization StopItNow noticed an increase in the number of incoming requests for help. Several suspects contacted StopItNow and made an appointment with a medical/psychological expert or intended to do so. 2 master students conducted a qualitative research on the effects on the suspects. Based on the findings of the students and police reports we know only 2 suspects that recidivated.