Project Safe Childhood

• NCJ Number: 218224
• Journal: Police Chief Volume: 74 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2007 Pages: 36,38,39
• Author(s): Paul J. McNulty
• Date Published: March 2007
• Length: 3 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes the features of the U.S. Justice Department's Project Safe Childhood (PSC), which is an initiative intended to combat the increase in the number of Internet child-exploitation crimes.

Abstract

PSC creates greater investigative efficiency for such crimes and protects children from online dangers by focusing on five objectives. First, PSC aims to integrate the efforts of PSC partners in the investigation and prosecution of child exploitation cases, as well as identify and rescue child victims. A second PSC objective is to provide for local PSC participation in national initiatives. A third PSC objective is to increase Federal investigations and prosecutions in child exploitation cases. A fourth objective is to provide appropriate training to law enforcement officials, so as to enhance their ability to detect and investigate cases of online child exploitation. A fifth objective of PSC is to coordinate local public awareness and education campaigns regarding the nature and prevention of online child exploitation. In order to accomplish these five objectives, PSC partnerships are being created in each Federal district by U.S. attorneys. These partnerships create a base of resources that can be used to combat online child exploitation by multiple means. Under PSC, increased advanced training opportunities are available for local, State, and Federal investigators assigned to investigate online child exploitation. Effective community outreach strategies for countering online child exploitation will involve many nongovernmental organizations, with perhaps the most prominent of them being the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Through its CyberTipline and the assistance it provides to investigators seeking to identify and locate victims of child exploitation, NCMEC is a vial contributor to the law enforcement strategies of all PSC partnerships.