NCJ Number
209801
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 32 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2005 Pages: 18-20,22,25
Date Published
April 2005
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Interviews with four ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) investigators focus on technology needs for ICAC units, selecting ICAC investigators, training investigators, choosing a focus for investigations, and building cases.
Abstract
Staying up-to-date on Internet technology being used by those who prey upon children through the Internet is critical to identifying and countering their methods of contact. Wireless networks, home routers, and cell phones that integrate multi-megabyte computer chips for Internet access are examples of current technology that offenders might use. Technology that can be used by ICAC investigators includes a telephone voice transformer that enables online investigators to impersonate voices of teens and children. The selection of ICAC investigators should focus on detectives with a background in offenses against children. Experience in child interviewing is a plus. The training of ICAC investigators should address how to create an online undercover persona, the recognition of nuances in online speech, how to communicate without leading a suspect, determining the difference between someone who possesses child pornography and someone who has intent to distribute, search-and-seizure requirements, and interview techniques. An ICAC investigator's choice of the types of child-related Internet cases to pursue depends on his/her training and expertise and comfort level with various types of cases and Internet technologies. Building a case typically involves identifying online threats to real children. This can involve focusing on areas of the Internet whose titles suggest that criminal behavior is occurring. Collected evidence should be placed in case files and then removed from the undercover computer and stored on a secure mainframe computer with daily tape backups that are kept offsite. The agency in the jurisdiction where the offender lives generally brings the charges unless the offender traveled to the investigator's location.