Information and Intervention Resources

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a comprehensive resource for families, victim service practitioners, and law enforcement personnel. NCMEC is supported by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and functions as a clearinghouse and resource center for collecting and distributing information about missing, runaway, and sexually exploited children, including exploitation resulting from Internet solicitations. In partnership with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs Service, and FBI, NCMEC operates the CyberTipline, an online form for reporting suspected child sexual exploitation (www.missingkids.com/cybertip), and the Child Pornography Tipline (1–800–843–5678). Through the CyberTipline and the telephone hotline, NCMEC

• Receives reports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, of child sexual exploitation and the production and distribution of pornography on the Internet. Calls to the toll-free Child Pornography Tipline can be received from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
  
  
• Receives reports of offenses such as child pornography, child sex tourism, online enticement of children for sexual acts, and child sexual molestation (outside the family). Analysts review each report and provide information to investigating law enforcement agencies.
  
  
• Provides leads on child exploitation cases to appropriate law enforcement authorities and agencies.

NCMEC case managers work directly with law enforcement personnel, offering technical assistance, resources, information, and advice on child sexual exploitation. NCMEC also has developed specialized training programs, materials, and curricula designed for law enforcement personnel. Training is available at little or no cost to local jurisdictions through OJJDP. For more information on current programs, call 1–800–843–5678.

Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program

In 1998, the Missing Children’s Program of OJJDP initiated its Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force program, a national effort to combat the threat of offenders who use the Internet to sexually exploit children. Through this program, state and local law enforcement agencies can acquire the skills, equipment, and personnel resources to respond effectively to ICAC offenses. The program encourages law enforcement agencies to develop specialized multijurisdictional, multiagency responses to prevent, interdict, investigate, and prosecute Internet crimes against children. As of mid-2000, 30 ICAC task forces were participating in the ICAC task force program. Each task force is composed of federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel; federal and local prosecution officials; local educators; and service providers such as mental health professionals. These task forces serve as valuable regional resources for assistance to parents, educators, prosecutors, law enforcement personnel, and others who work on child victimization issues. You can obtain more information on this and other law enforcement programs from the OJJDP Web site at ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/programs/index.html.

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The FBI has established the Innocent Images program to focus specifically
on computer-facilitated child sexual exploitation. Each FBI Field Division has designated two Crimes Against Children Coordinators to work with state and local law enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute cases that cross jurisdictional boundaries. OVC has placed a victim witness coordinator in the Innocent Images program to focus greater attention on the needs of child victims.

U.S. Postal Inspection Service

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service protects children online by monitoring the transmission of child pornography through the mail. Increased amounts of pornography are being sent through U.S. mail as more illicit Web sites emerge advertising child pornographic material for sale. In response, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is tracking down these materials. In addition, the U.S. Customs Service Cyber Smuggling Center monitors the illegal generation, importation, and proliferation of child pornography.