Child Pornography: - Center for Problem-Oriented Policing

it seeks new ways to control the flow of child pornography online. 523 ECPAT International
also produces numerous publications on child sexual exploitation including various books,
articles, and a quarterly newsletter.
Barriers to Effective Intervention
Despite the establishment of model law-enforcement approaches and collaboration by other
groups across the country and worldwide, significant barriers to the effective intervention,
investigation, and prosecution of child sexual exploitation crimes still remain.
Child sexual exploitation is not a priority in many jurisdictions especially when competing
for attention with street violence, gang activity, and drug trafficking. 524 A 1998 study
found that only 14 of the nation's 50 largest police departments had arrested more than 5
adults in the previous year for any of the various child-sexual-exploitation offenses. 525
In addition child pornography is often a hidden crime. Many children will not volunteer
their involvement in child pornography, often from fear or shame, yet many investigators
report they are reluctant to ask children involved in sexual-abuse cases if pictures or videos
were taken. Such reluctance to raise the possibility of child pornography without other
existing evidence may stem from adverse and often misguided or incorrect publicity associated
with "leading questions" or "tainted interviews." 526 In addition children who do speak up
may not reveal the full extent of their involvement—making identification of offenders more
difficult 527 —or may disclose only those experiences clearly documented by the pornography.
528
In jurisdictions where child-sexual-exploitation cases do receive high priority, limited
resources may hinder law-enforcement efforts. 529 Without significant institutional and financial
support, law-enforcement agencies may be unable to establish or sustain an effective,
concentrated effort to combat child sexual exploitation. Staff members may be unable to
dedicate sufficient time to investigation and prosecution efforts; communication may become
difficult between members operating at their home agencies rather than a centralized site; and
case-based specialization may be more difficult as agents work to balance numerous issues
competing for time and expertise.
Many child-pornography cases not only originate outside local jurisdictions, they may
also cross international borders complicating the investigative process even further. Often the
other countries may not have sufficient laws to cover the production, distribution, or possession
of child pornography. Some law-enforcement officials may be reluctant to commit
resources to cases such as child pornography that originate outside their jurisdiction. 530
Fragmentation of responsibility for child-sexual-exploitation cases also exists in many
law-enforcement agencies. 531 In some large jurisdictions misdemeanor cases may be handled
by a different division than felony cases. In cities with no centralized unit with responsibility
for child-exploitation cases they are generally handled by patrol officers assigned to that geographic
district. Even when children are identified as victims the child-abuse unit may not
handle the case because cases involving victims who are older than 13 may go to the sexualassault
unit. 532 While this division of labor may not in itself prevent an effective response,
departments without effective cross-training and collaboration may face a diffusion of
resources and knowledge.
54 - CHILD PORNOGRAPHY: THE CRIMINAL-JUSTICE-SYSTEM RESPONSE