How NCMEC Can Support Law Enforcement Operations
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
NCMEC is the nation’s largest and most influential child protection organization.
Written by Melissa Snow , Executive Director, Child Sex Trafficking Programs, Analytical Services Division?
“The NCMEC Child Sex Trafficking Team has shown remarkable capability in assisting various law enforcement operations while also receiving valuable feedback from investigators about the successful outcomes. This collaboration has been truly inspiring. Everyone has stepped up to demonstrate to law enforcement the incredible resources NCMEC can provide and our unwavering shared mission and commitment to recovering missing and exploited children.”?
Maurice Edwards – Supervisor, Child Sex Trafficking Team & Former Law Enforcement???
In 2024, NCMEC’s Child Sex Trafficking Team (CSTT) played a crucial role in supporting 57 local, state, and/or federal law enforcement operations aimed at recovering victims of child sex trafficking. This is a 47% increase from 2023. When law enforcement is planning a child sex trafficking operation, outreach to CSTT can provide essential information specific to the target location, including details about missing children who are actively being sold for commercial sex, potential traffickers, and additional insight to ensure the safe recovery of victims and the protection of law enforcement.??
Operational support can be tailored to the requesting law enforcement agencies' goals and needs.? As a first step, we encourage any law enforcement agency planning a child sex trafficking operation to reach out early so we can assist by developing bio-packets that include children who are actively missing and exploited in the target location.? Additionally, CSTT analysts have access to deconflict across NCMEC’s Missing Child and CyberTipline systems, which hold millions of pieces of information.? We routinely get requests from law enforcement to run a name in our system and often there is a hit, a potential missing piece of the puzzle that can lead to identifying a potential offender or locating a child.?
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Access to analytical resources—both staff and tools—can vary widely between law enforcement agencies.? As a non-profit organization, NCMEC is uniquely situated to help fill that gap by leveraging public-private partnerships in which leading technology companies in the field have donated access to their tools. NCMEC’s specialized analysts combine their expertise in identifying child sex trafficking online with access to dozens of donated analytical resources and tools. This powerful combination allows child sex trafficking analysts to further develop information into more actionable leads to locate missing children or identify child sex traffickers.? Requests for assistance from law enforcement can be actioned by NCMEC’s analysts regardless of whether the child or potential offender has been previously reported to NCMEC.??
For larger events, analysts can leverage donated technology and corporate partnerships to develop maps for operations that bring together multiple law enforcement agencies. The maps provide a comprehensive and concise visual representation of hundreds of pieces of data and analytical information.? This can include but is not limited to photos of active missing children, indicators of possible sex trafficking victimization, and information on potential traffickers or locations known for commercial sex activity, all appearing on an interactive map.??
In addition to all the pre-operational support, NCMEC analysts can provide virtual real-time analytical assistance.? And for larger operations, on a case-by-case basis, we can deploy analysts to provide on-site analytical support.? It’s during these opportunities that law enforcement really has a front-row seat to see what NCMEC analysts and our free resources can do to support their efforts.??
While we know that recovery is just the first step, it is the most important step in ensuring children are removed from harm.? Whether supporting operations or assisting with individual cases, NCMEC is proud to collaborate with law enforcement every day to protect vulnerable children and bring offenders to justice.?
For more information on this team or to request law enforcement support please call 1-800-THE-LOST and ask to speak with the Child Sex Trafficking Analytical Team.? We are a FREE resource and stand ready to assist and support law enforcement efforts to combat child sex trafficking.?ncmec.org/theissues/trafficking
Bilingual Investigative Journalist. Editor, Author, Writer of? 23 educational books in both English and French of The Bridge Books series
5 天前Dear ALL, The Bridge Magazine ???celebrates true love & romance during Valentine's Day season, as love is deemed so powerful that it remains a longstanding foundation stone of humanities survival. Despite the red roses, chocolates, Agent Provocateur Luxury lingerie and gifts sealed with a kiss for Valentine’s Day; Our editorial felt an urgency to inform lovers worldwide of the distorted paradigm of love. As we join all of humanity in celebrating the month of love and raising awareness of the varying facets of the perversion of love: This February, The Bridge Magazine wishes A Happy belated Valentine’s Day ??????to lovers! Read more ?? https://www.the-bridge-magazine.com/an-anthem-to-love-health-and-sexuality-at-the-heart-of-our-editorial-as-the-world-celebrated-valentines-day-the-bridge-magazine-remains-struck-and-scared-by-the-enormous-parental-and-guard/
It is probably only a tiny piece of the predatory criminals exploiting children. But like the story of the starfish, each child that is saved, rescued and helped, is worth celebrating. We can never stop being vigilant and continuing the fight. Thank you NCMEC.
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American Red Cross
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