Arrests for Child Pornography Production: Data at Two Time Points From a National Sample of U.S. Law Enforcement Agencies

• NCJ Number: 237466
• Journal: Child Maltreatment Volume: 16 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2011 Pages: 184-195
• Author(s): Janis Wolak; David Finkelhor; Kimberly J. Mitchell; Lisa M. Jones
• Date Published: August 2011
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2005-JL-FX-0048; 2006-JP-FX-0061
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined trends in law enforcement responses to child pornography (CP) production.

Abstract

This study collected information on arrests for child pornography (CP) production at two points (2000-2001 and 2006) from a national sample of more than 2,500 law enforcement agencies. In addition to providing descriptive data about an understudied crime, the authors examined whether trends in arrests suggested increasing CP production, shifts in victim populations, and challenges to law enforcement. Arrests for CP production more than doubled from an estimated 402 in 2000-2001 to an estimated 859 in 2006. Findings suggest the increase was related to increased law enforcement activity rather than to growth in the population of CP producers. Adolescent victims increased, but there was no increase in the proportion of arrest cases involving very young victims or violent images. Producers distributed images in 23 percent of arrest cases, a proportion that did not change over time. This suggests that much CP production may be primarily for private use. Proactive law enforcement operations increased, as did other features consistent with a robust law enforcement response. (Published Abstract)