Video games have taken the blame for any number of degenerate behavior in youths ever since the industry was created, and violent game series like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty have given opponents even more ammo to paint games as a scapegoat for everything from minor misbehavior to mass murder.

Now a group of British school principals have taken it upon themselves to fight what they see as the corrupting influence of mature video games by threatening to report parents who allow their children to play these games to the police.

The Nantwich Education Partnership sent a letter to the parents of children in 16 different schools, warning that the administrators would contact the police if they discovered that any minors were playing games rated 18+. The letter blames these games for “early sexualised behaviour,” saying that they make children “vulnerable to grooming for sexual exploitation or extreme violence.”

“If your child is allowed to have inappropriate access to any game, or associated product, that is designated 18+ we are advised to contact the police and children’s social care as this is deemed neglectful,” the letter says.

The U.K. already has strict guidelines governing the sale of video games to minors. “It is important to note that the age ratings 12, 16 and 18 age ratings are mandatory and that it is illegal for a retailer to supply any game with any of these ratings to anyone below the specified age,” the ratings guide from the U.K.’s Video Standards Council says. “The age ratings 3 and 7 are advisory only. The PEGI age ratings will enable parents and carers to make an informed choice when buying a game for their children.”

Mary Hennessy Jones, the Pear Tree Primary School principal who drafted the letter, told the BBC that the letter is meant to inform parents, not scare them. “We are trying to help parents to keep their children as safe as possible in this digital era,” Jones said. “It is so easy for children to end up in the wrong place and parents find it helpful to have some very clear guidelines.”

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