Innovative Approaches by Law Enforcement in the Investigation of Technology-Facilitated Crimes against Children

• In Event: Research on Innovative Law Enforcement Responses to Crimes against Vulnerable Victims

Abstract

This presentation presents findings from the 4th National Study of Juvenile Online Victimization (N-JOV4). Information was collected from a national sample of law enforcement agencies (n=960) on technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation cases initiated in 2019. Case-level data was analyzed on subsample of cases (N=1,157) reported by these agencies, including investigations of child sexual abuse material production (n=244) and possession/distribution (n=446), online grooming and enticement (n=213), undercover work (n=191), and youth produced sexual images (n=405). Innovative approaches used by law enforcement in these cases included the involvement of a multi-disciplinary team (19%), getting a warrant for cloud storage (23%), trying to identify hands-on abuse (38%), contacting an internet company to obtain evidence (25%), and referring sexual images to a photo DNA archive (25%). Innovative police approaches were positively correlated with victim-centered outcomes such as families being given supportive resources and youth being referred for counseling or support. When specialized Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforces were involved in investigations, the case was more likely to result in a guilty plea (p<.001) and incarceration (p<.001). Implications of the findings for law enforcement best practices on child-victim internet crimes will be discussed.

Authors

• Lisa M. Jones, University of New Hampshire

• Kimberly J. Mitchell, University of New Hampshire