Crimes Against Children Continue to Increase

The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said the exploitation of children has unfortunately become a major "growth industry, but the agency has likewise increased its efforts to crack down on those who prey on children. Robert S. Mueller III outlined the steps that the FBI is taking to protect "the most vulnerable among us."

Mueller said the growth of the Internet has been a factor in the increase of crimes against children.

"In just the past decade, we have moved from lone predators with limited reach to global communities of pedophiles on the Internet," he said. "We have moved from back-alley bookstores to criminal enterprises that treat children as merely another commodity for sale in the global marketplace. We have moved from videos in plain brown packages to encrypted websites, flash drives, and cell phones capable of storing thousands of images."

Mueller said the FBI is "using new tools, new technology, and new partnerships" to help put a stop to crimes against children.

New Tools to Fight Crime

The following are three of the tools the agency uses to address the problem, according to a news release:

• Innocence Lost program features 24 task forces and working groups around the country involving federal, state, and local law enforcement and U.S. Atttorney's Offices. Our Innocence Lost Child Prostitution Database puts more than 17,000 records of children and predators at the fingertips of investigators. Since the program began in 2003, the FBI and its partners have recovered 433 children, convicted 308 criminals, and dismantled 32 criminal organizations.

• Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Teams move quickly in critical cases when a child is missing. "In the past two years," Mueller said, "these teams have been deployed 33 times to assist state and local law enforcement, with 15 children safely recovered."

• Innocent Images National Initiative targets predators who use the Internet to exploit children. Investigators may pose as children or collectors to lure predators into the open. The agency also coordinate with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to identify children and adults featured in child pornography. The FBI trains police officers to investigate cases in their own jurisdictions.

"There are days…when it seems there are more predators than police officers, prosecutors, and child advocates combined. But these predators cannot match our dedication," Mueller told the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center Crimes Against Children Conference. "We reaffirm our commitment to protecting the most vulnerable among us. We reaffirm our commitment to sweeping sexual predators off the street, off the Internet, and out of our children's lives."

See Also:
Protecting the 'Most Vulnerable Among Us'

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