Law
enforcement agencies from Australia, Canada, the United
Kingdom and the United States are creating a new Web site
as a tool to help in the campaign against the online exploitation
of children.
Announcement of the initiative was made
in London, according to a January 26 press release from
the U.S. partner in the effort, Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE).
The site, http://www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com/
instructs visitors in reporting suspected child exploitation
and provides other safety and resource information about
organizations involved in the international effort to protect
youngsters from sexual predators.
ICE’s participation in this task force
is in line with its ongoing campaign Operation Predator,
which works to protect children from sex offenders, child
sex tourists, Internet child pornographers and human traffickers.
The 18-month-old operation has resulted in more than 4,800
arrests.
The text of the ICE press release follows:
(begin text)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
News Release
UK, US, AUSTRALIAN & CANADIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT
BAND TOGETHER TO TARGET ONLINE CHILD EXPLOITATION
International law enforcement partnership
launches new website for reporting, resources
LONDON — Law enforcement and technology
industry officials in the UK unveiled today a new international
website created by the Virtual Global Task Force, a partnership
lead by the UK National Crime Squad (NCS) that includes
NCS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Australian High Tech
Crime Centre, and Interpol.
The site, at www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com,
includes information on how to report suspected child exploitation
in the UK, US, Canada and Australia; as well as related
safety and resource information from partner organizations
such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children in the United States.
Jim Gamble, Deputy Director General of the
UK’s National Crime Squad, and Chair of the Virtual
Global Taskforce, said, “The Virtual Global Taskforce
is a unique partnership in the history of law enforcement.
Internet-users access a worldwide service so we must tackle
abuse from a worldwide perspective. Strategic partnerships
such as this are vital to our success.”
ICE’s participation in the Virtual
Global Task Force is part of Operation Predator, a Department
of Homeland Security initiative to protect children from
criminal alien sex offenders, child sex tourists, Internet
child pornographers, and human traffickers. Since Operation
Predator began in July 2003, more than 4,800 individuals
have been arrested nationwide. Foreign law enforcement,
acting on ICE leads, have arrested more than 860 individuals.
Additional information about Operation Predator
is available on the Web at http://www.ice.gov/.
ICE encourages the reporting of suspected
child predators and any suspicious activity through its
toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed
around the clock by investigators.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing
children may be reported to the National Center for Missing
& Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner,
at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative
arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised
of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law
enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number
of key homeland security priorities.
(end text)
