ICE participates in EUROPOL-led effort to identify victims of child abuse
WASHINGTON – For the past two weeks, victim identification specialists from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have been working with top experts from around the globe at Europol’s headquarters in The Hague, to work unsolved cases in an effort to identify victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
The coordinated effort of this Europol Victim Identification Task Force (VIDTF) yielded significant results: More than 250 series of child sexual abuse images and video files have been uploaded to the INTERPOL International Child Sexual Exploitation Database and additions made to more than 300 existing series.
In addition, Europol has distributed intelligence packages to several countries to assist in the identification of victims. These actions will ensure that many more victims have a better chance of being identified and made safe from child sexual abuse, according to the task force; a number of investigations are in the advanced stages and should soon lead to positive outcomes for more victims.
“HSI is dedicated to working with our international law enforcement partners across jurisdictions and national boundaries to protect children everywhere,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Peter T. Edge. “In 2011, HSI established a national victim identification program at our HSI Cyber Crimes Center, combining the latest technology with traditional investigative techniques to identify and rescue child victims of sexual exploitation.”
“The problem we are facing is global, and it requires a coordinated global response from law enforcement, the private industry and civil society,” said Europol Director Rob Wainwright. “The technology and tools exist to effectively stop online child abuse, and the discussions and coordination between critical actors which need to happen, is happening. But we must do more. We therefore encourage countries to use Europol’s unique tools and networks to exchange information so that every case can end in a positive outcome. This is how victims are identified and their abusers brought to justice. Operations like the one today show that the pooling of resources, knowledge and technical skills is the most effective way to identify and rescue these children. This is why it is so important that law enforcement authorities in Europe and beyond continue to invest and participate in victim identification taskforces such as this one.
Steven Wilson, Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), said, “Identifying victims of child sexual abuse is of the highest priority for police forces across the world. Offenders readily make use of technological developments to change the production and distribution channels of child sexual exploitation materials. Law enforcement needs to keep up with these developments, increase intelligence sharing and interagency cooperation to overcome the challenges of investigation of this crime type. The Victim Identification Task Force is an excellent example of international co-operation utilizing the latest technology to protect children across the world. The gathering of a group of national experts in Victim Identification serves to develop tactics and investigation techniques so they can be adopted across all countries and ensure that our children are protected from abuse.”
Identifying victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation is a priority for police forces across the world.
This historic collaborative effort included experts from Australia, Austria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
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