Devon and Cornwall Police, working in partnership with the National Crime Agency and the Association of Chief Police Officers, has delivered an unprecedented operation to safeguard children across the south west by targeting paedophiles that access indecent images of children online. During the operation officers executed 32 warrants across the peninsula, which resulted in 22 arrests. All of the suspects are currently on police bail. Seven warrants were also completed targeting people who had viewed indecent images of children online, which were not part of the NCA operation, leading to seven further arrests. Detective Chief Inspector Brett Mitchell, of the force's public protection unit, said: 'We know some of the people who access indecent images of children online go on to abuse children directly and this operation has been focussed on preventing this from happening.  'Targeting offenders who access indecent images of children online influences potential abusers, preventing children becoming victims of sexual abuse.  'The internet is not a safe space for paedophiles to access and view indecent images of children. Their activity leaves a digital footprint, which we will find. We have a team of specially trained detectives within our public protection unit who are dedicated to finding and prosecuting paedophiles and are making arrests every day across the force. 'Devon and Cornwall Police will continue to target paedophiles as part of our daily operational activity as we are committed to protecting children and finding people who believe it is acceptable to commit this crime.' A spokesman added: 'The focus of the investigation was to prevent child abuse before it happens and safeguard children who are victims or might be at risk of sexual exploitation.  'A child is victimised not only when they are abused and an image is taken but they are re-victimised every time that image is viewed by someone.' The overall policing operation was led by the public protection unit supported by officers from the force support group and local investigation teams. This direct action identified children who were at risk, who are now safe and protected due to the support they were provided by the police and children's services. The breakdown of arrests by area was as follows: l West Cornwall: Five arrests – aged 36, 43, 31, 55, 36. l East Cornwall: Six arrests – aged 29, 39, 22, 47, 41, 49. l Plymouth: Four arrests – aged 38, 47, 30, 27. l Exeter: Four arrests – aged 63, 48, 37, 30. l North Devon: Two arrests – aged 54, 47. l Torbay: Four arrests – aged 46, 35, 46, 46. l South Devon, excluding Torbay: Four arrests – aged 41, 53, 50, 57.