Child Pornography: - Center for Problem-Oriented Policing

Benefits of Law-Enforcement Networks
One of the key benefits of a law-enforcement network is the immediate and comprehensive
effort to increase awareness about the issue of child sexual exploitation. Using its
extensive community ties, a law-enforcement network often can reach out to audiences that
might otherwise not be contacted. The law-enforcement network model also embraces extensive
recruitment efforts thereby increasing the number of child-welfare and law-enforcement
professionals working on child-sexual-exploitation cases. These two elements—education
and recruitment—are especially beneficial when cases have statewide implications. 510
The law-enforcement-network model, however, also has significant drawbacks. Most
significantly the absence of resources may hinder communication and collaboration between
network members making it difficult to sustain an effective initiative. Furthermore, without
dedicated resources or staff, the importance of a network's efforts may go unrecognized and
therefore underused. 511
Internet Crime Units
With the growth of the Internet several jurisdictions have established units dedicated to the
full-time investigation of web-based child sexual exploitation. In Illinois, for example, the
Attorney General's Internet Criminal Activity Unit and Child Sexual Exploitation Task Force
established a special unit to fight online solicitation and child pornography. Composed of staff
from state and local law-enforcement agencies, county-attorney offices, and the US Postal
Inspection Service, the Special Unit pools each agency's expertise on Internet-based child
sexual exploitation in order to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of these kinds of
crimes. The Unit works largely on tips from parents and other adults as well as leads and
complaints received by private Internet service providers such as America Online. It also
works to educate children and parents about the potential for online danger and exploitation.
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International Initiatives
Efforts are also underway at an international level to combat child sexual exploitation.
In 1992 the international law-enforcement organization INTERPOL established a Standing
Working Party (SWP) on Offenses Against Minors that aims to improve transnational
cooperation in preventing and combating child pornography and other forms of child sexual
exploitation. 513 The SWP meets biannually and has produced best-practices manuals and recommendations
for investigations of child exploitation. It is also looking at legislation on child
pornography; international cooperation efforts; development of a liaison network; and other
general measures on victim assistance, law-enforcement structure, missing children, free telephone
helplines, prevention models, training, research, and statistics. 514
In addition countries worldwide are developing their own responses to the crisis of child
sexual exploitation. For example a coalition of government agencies, law-enforcement officers,
child-protection groups, and others in New Zealand have developed and distributed
an Internet safety kit that alerts children to the threat posed by child sex offenders
online. 515 Similarly several ISPs in Ireland recently launched a hotline for reporting
child pornography. 516
52 - CHILD PORNOGRAPHY: THE CRIMINAL-JUSTICE-SYSTEM RESPONSE