Feature
ICAC Task Force fights to keep kids safe
By Sergeant Michael Hill
The
Massachusetts Internet Crimes Against Children
(ICAC) Task Force was created in 1999 as part of a
national initiative designed to combat Internet crimes against
children. In the 1990s, the federal government realized that
state, county, and local law enforcement agencies required
additional resources to help prevent the victimization of
children through technology. Federal grants through the
Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
allowed Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces to
be established throughout the country. Currently, there are 61
ICAC Task Forces nationally.
The mission of the ICAC Task Force is to prevent and/or identify
the victimization and exploitation of children via the use of
computers, computer technology, or the Internet. This is
accomplished through proactive & reactive investigations,
training of law enforcement and prosecutors, and community
education.
The Massachusetts State Police is the primary agency for the ICAC
Task Force in Massachusetts. The structure of the Massachusetts
ICAC Task Force was designed to increase the state’s capacity to
educate, investigate, and prosecute ICAC matters throughout
Massachusetts. Although each Massachusetts State Police
officer is part of the Massachusetts ICAC Task Force, there are
four investigators within the Digital Evidence & Multimedia
Section (DEMS) designated as the primary officers assigned
to the Massachusetts ICAC Task Force. These investigators are
overseen by the Massachusetts ICAC Task Force Commander
Lieutenant Matthew G. Murphy. The duties of these four primary
officers are to 1) Provide technical and investigative assistance
to other agencies and state police units regarding technology
facilitated child exploitation crimes; 2) Provide public Internet
safety & awareness trainings to children, parents, and community
members; 3) Conduct proactive investigations to help identify
those persons involved in child exploitation; and 4) Provide
training to law enforcement and prosecutors on the technical
aspects of these crimes. The Massachusetts ICAC Task Force
is supported by six computer forensic examiners assigned to
DEMS in order to provide technical assistance to other agencies
and State Police units with the recovery of digital evidence.
Furthermore, the Massachusetts ICAC Task Force is supported by
an investigator in each of the twelve State Police Detective Units
(SPDU), as well as a prosecutor from each District Attorney’s
Office and the Attorney General’s Office. In addition, the ICAC
Task Force has 113 affiliate and/or partnered agencies from local
police departments, county sheriff departments, college police
departments, state parole board, federal agencies, and private
non-profit organizations state wide. Based on this structure, the
Massachusetts ICAC Task Force has the approximate personnel
capacity of 112 investigators, 16 prosecutors, and 34 forensic
examiners.
The majority of ICAC investigations are reactive; cases are
received in various ways such as citizen complaints, referrals
from other law enforcement agencies, and Cybertips received
from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
(NCMEC). The majority of these reactive investigations are
received through Cybertips from NCMEC. NCMEC maintains
a CyberTip Line at www.cybertipline.org where citizens and
Electronic Service Providers (ESP) can report child exploitation
occurring on the Internet. NCMEC processes these Cybertips
and forwards them to the local law enforcement agency of
jurisdiction -- usually one of the sixty-one ICAC Task Forces
nationwide. NCM EC has received over two million Cybertips
since 1998. The Massachusetts ICAC Task Force has one Trooper
dedicated to receiving, processing, and distributing these
Cybertips within Massachusetts to the SPDU and/or local police
department of jurisdiction. The Massachusetts ICAC Task Force
receives approximately 1,200 Cybertips per year. Without
the current structure of the Massachusetts ICAC Task Force,
responding to these Cybertips would not be possible.
The Massachusetts ICAC Task Force understands that the majority
of law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts lack the technical
expertise and resources to conduct their own ICAC related
proactive investigations. Therefore, another responsibility of
the Task Force is to initiate proactive investigations in order to
identify and/or prevent child exploitation through technology.
Through these efforts, since 2009, the Task Force has been
able to initiate over 1,000 proactive investigations which have
resulted in numerous arrests and the identification and rescue
of children.
Through the support of OJJDP, the Massachusetts State Police
and those law enforcement agencies affiliated and/or partnered
with the Massachusetts ICAC Task Force has been able to
accomplish the following since 2009:
3,636 Cybertips received, processed, & distributed;
3,969 Investigations;
536 Arrests;
164 Child victims identified;
979 Search Warrants;
3,026 Forensic Examinations;
3,402 Technical Assists;
2,455 Internet Safety & Awareness Presentations to
approximately 183,133 children, parents, and community
members.
The Massachusetts ICAC Task Force can be reached through
the Massachusetts State Police Digital Evidence & Multimedia
Section at (978) 451-3550.
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