The guide begins by describing the problem and reviewing factors that increase the risks of Internet child pornography. It then identifies a series of questions that might assist you in analyzing your local Internet child pornography problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem and what is known about these from evaluative research and police practice.
The treatment of children as sexual objects has existed through the ages, and so too has the production of erotic literature and drawings involving children. However, pornography in the modern sense began with the invention of the camera in the early nineteenth century. Almost immediately, sexualized images involving children were produced, traded, and collected.[1]Even so, child pornography remained a restricted activity through most of the twentieth century. Images were usually locally produced, of poor quality, expensive, and difficult to obtain. The relaxation of censorship standards in the 1960s led to an increase in the availability of child pornography, and, by 1977, some 250 child pornography magazines were circulating in the United States, many imported from Europe.[2]Despite concern about the extent of child pornography, law enforcement agencies had considerable success in stemming the trafficking of these traditional hard-copy forms. However, the advent of the Internet in the 1980s dramatically changed the scale and nature of the child pornography problem, and has required new approaches to investigation and control.
Internet child pornography is unlike most crimes local police departments handle. Local citizens may access child pornography images that were produced and/or stored in another city or on another continent. Alternatively, they may produce or distribute images that are downloaded by people thousands of miles away. An investigation that begins in one police district will almost certainly cross jurisdictional boundaries. Therefore, most of the major investigations of Internet child pornography have involved cooperation among jurisdictions, often at an international level.
However, within this broader scheme, local police departments have a crucial role to play. By concentrating on components of the problem that occur within their local jurisdictions, they may uncover evidence that initiates a wider investigation. Alternatively, they may receive information from other jurisdictions about offenders in their districts. Because of the increasing use of computers in society, most police departments are likely to encounter Internet child pornography crimes. Therefore, it is important that all police departments develop strategies for dealing with the problem. Larger departments or districts may have their own dedicated Internet child pornography teams, but most smaller ones do not, and the responsibility for day-to-day investigations will fall to general-duties officers.[3]It would be a mistake to underestimate the importance of local police in detecting and preventing Internet child pornography offenses. One study found that 56 percent of arrests for Internet child pornography crimes originated from non-specialized law enforcement agencies.[4]
Internet child pornography is only one of a number of problems related to either child abuse or the Internet. Other related problems not directly addressed by this guide include:
§ See the POP Guide on Identity Theft.
The idea of protecting children from sexual exploitation is relatively modern. As late as the 1880s in the United States, the age of consent for girls was just 10 years.[5]In 1977, only two states had legislation specifically outlawing the use of children in obscene material. The first federal law concerning child pornography was passed in 1978, and the first laws that specifically referred to computers and child pornography were passed in 1988. Since that time, there has been a steady tightening of child pornography laws[6](see Table 1).
| Table 1: Development of child pornography law in the United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Legislation/Ruling [7] | Comment |
| 1978 | Sexual Exploitation of Children Act | First federal law specifically dealing with child pornography. Prohibited the manufacture and commercial distribution of obscene material involving minors under 16. |
| 1982 | New York v. Ferber | Child pornography not protected by the First Amendment. Child pornography separated from obscenity laws, to be judged on a different standard. |
| 1984 | Child Protection Act | Age of minor covered by child pornography legislation was raised to 18, and distinction between child pornography and obscenity codified. |
| 1986 | United States v. Dost | Expanded the definition of child pornography to include sexually suggestive depictions of a lascivious nature. |
| 1988 | Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act | Illegal to use a computer to depict or advertise child pornography. |
| 1990 | Osborne v. Ohio | Private possession of child pornography ruled to be illegal. |
| 1996 | Child Pornography Protection Act | Definition of child pornography expanded to include virtual images of children and images that appear to be of a minor. |
| 1998 | Child Protector and Sexual Predator Punishment Act | Internet Service Providers (ISPs) required to report known incidents of child pornography to authorities, but not required to actively monitor customers or sites. |
| 2002 | Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition | Virtual images ruled not to be pornography; ‘appear to be a minor’ ruled to be too broad. |
To summarize the current federal legal situation in the United States:
Most states have followed the federal lead with specific legislation, allowing state police to join federal agencies in the fight against child pornography.[10]However, the exact nature of the legislation varies considerably among states. There is also a wide variation in international laws covering child pornography, and this can have significant implications for law enforcement.
Because legal definitions of both child and pornography differ considerably among jurisdictions, for research purposes child pornography is often defined broadly as any record of sexual activity involving a prepubescent person. Pornographic records include still photographs, videos, and audio recordings. The images themselves vary considerably in their graphic content. In some cases individuals may collect images that do not involve overt pornography and are not technically illegal. There are 10 levels of image severity:[11]
The Internet has escalated the problem of child pornography by increasing the amount of material available, the efficiency of its distribution, and the ease of its accessibility. (See Appendix A for a summary of key terms and concepts relating to the Internet.) Specifically, the Internet:
The problem of Internet child pornography can be divided into three components—the production, distribution, and downloading of images. In some cases, the same people are involved in each stage. However, some producers and/or distributors of child pornography are motivated solely by financial gain and are not themselves sexually attracted to children.
This involves the creation of pornographic images. Collectors place a premium on new child pornography material. However, many images circulating on the Internet may be decades old, taken from earlier magazines and films. Images may be produced professionally, and, in these cases, often document the abuse of children in third-world countries. However, more commonly, amateurs make records of their own sexual abuse exploits, particularly now that electronic recording devices such as digital cameras and web cams permit individuals to create high quality, homemade images.[12]With the advent of multimedia messaging (MMR) mobile phones, clandestine photography of children in public areas is becoming an increasing problem.
This involves the uploading and dissemination of pornographic images. These images may be stored on servers located almost anywhere in the world. Distribution may involve sophisticated pedophile rings or organized crime groups that operate for profit, but in many cases, is carried out by individual amateurs who seek no financial reward. Child pornography may be uploaded to the Internet on websites or exchanged via e-mail, instant messages, newsgroups, bulletin boards, chat rooms, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. Efforts by law enforcement agencies and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to stop the dissemination of child pornography on the Internet have led to changes in offenders’ methods. Child pornography websites are often shut down as soon as they are discovered, and openly trading in pornography via e-mail or chat rooms is risky because of the possibility of becoming ensnared in a police sting operation (e.g., undercover police entering chat rooms posing as pedophiles or as minor children). Increasingly those distributing child pornography are employing more sophisticated security measures to elude detection and are being driven to hidden levels of the Internet (see Table 2).
| Table 2: Distribution methods of child pornography on the Internet. [13] | |
|---|---|
| Method | Use |
| Web pages and websites | Specific child pornography websites may be created, or child pornography images may be embedded in general pornography sites. However, there is debate about how much child pornography is available on the web. Some argue that it is relatively easy to find images.[14] Others argue that, because of the vigilance of ISPs and police in tracking down and closing child pornography websites, it is unlikely that a normal web search using key words such as childporn would reveal much genuine child pornography.[15] Instead, the searcher is likely to find legal pornographic sites with adults purporting to be minors, ‘sting’ operations, or vigilante sites. One strategy of distributors is to post temporary sites that are then advertised on pedophile bulletin boards. To prolong their existence these sites may be given innocuous names (e.g., volleyball) or other codes (e.g., ch*ldp*rn) to pass screening software. The websites may be immediately flooded with hits before they are closed down. Often the websites contain Zip archives, the password for which is then later posted on a bulletin board. |
| Web cam | Images of abuse may be broadcast in real time. In one documented case of a live broadcast, viewers could make online requests for particular sexual activities to be carried out on the victim.[16] |
| E-mail attachments are sometimes used by professional distributors of child pornography, but more frequently they are used to share images among users, or they are sent to a potential victim as part of the grooming/seduction process. This method is considered risky by seasoned users because of the danger in unwittingly sending e-mails to undercover police posing as pedophiles or as potential victims. | |
| E-groups | Specific child pornography e-groups exist to permit members to receive and share pornographic images and exchange information about new sites. Some of these groups appear on reputable servers and are swiftly shut down when they are detected. However, they may use code names or camouflage child pornography images among legal adult pornography to prolong their existence. |
| Newsgroups | Specific child pornography newsgroups provide members with a forum in which to discuss their sexual interests in children and to post child pornography. This is one of the major methods of distributing child pornography. Some child pornography newsgroups are well known to both users and authorities (for example, the abpep-t or alternative binaries pictures erotica pre-teen group). Most commercial servers block access to such sites. Some servers do provide access to them but a user runs the risk of having his/her identity captured either by the credit card payments required for access, or the record kept by the server of his/her IP address. However, a computer-savvy user can access these groups by using techniques that hide his/her identity by concealing his/her true IP address. |
| Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) | Bulletin boards may be used legally to host discussions that provide advice to seekers of child pornography, including the URLs of child pornography websites and ratings of those sites. These bulletin boards may be monitored by system administrators to exclude bogus or irrelevant postings, such as from vigilantes. |
| Chat rooms | Chat rooms may be used to exchange child pornography and locate potential victims. Chat rooms may be password-protected. Open chat rooms are avoided by seasoned child pornographers because they are often infiltrated by undercover police. |
| Peer-to-peer (P2P) | P2P networks facilitate file sharing among child pornography users. These networks permit closed groups to trade images. |
This involves accessing child pornography via the Internet. The images do not need to be saved to the computer’s hard drive or to a removable disk to constitute downloading. In some cases a person may receive spam advertising child pornography, a pop-up link may appear in unrelated websites, or he may inadvertently go to a child pornography website (e.g., by mistyping a key word). In most cases, however, users must actively seek out pornographic websites or subscribe to a group dedicated to child pornography. In fact, it has been argued that genuine child pornography is relatively rare in open areas of the Internet, and, increasingly, those seeking to find images need good computer skills and inside knowledge of where to look.[17] Most child pornography is downloaded via newsgroups and chat rooms. Access to websites and online pedophile groups may be closed and require paying a fee or using a password.
It is difficult to be precise about the extent of Internet child pornography, but all of the available evidence points to it being a major and growing problem. At any one time there are estimated to be more than one million pornographic images of children on the Internet, with 200 new images posted daily.[18] One offender arrested in the U.K. possessed 450,000 child pornography images.[19] It has been reported that a single child pornography site received a million hits in a month.[20] As noted above, one problem in estimating the number of sites is that many exist only for a brief period before they are shut down, and much of the trade in child pornography takes place at hidden levels of the Internet. It has been estimated that there are between 50,000 and 100,000 pedophiles involved in organized pornography rings around the world, and that one-third of these operate from the United States.[21]
There is no one type of Internet child pornography user, and there is no easy way to recognize an offender. Having a preconceived idea of a child sex offender can be unhelpful and prove a distraction for investigating police.[22] Users of Internet child pornography:
Sexual attraction to children is known as pedophilia.[28]However, an interest in Internet child pornography may be best thought of as falling along a continuum rather than in terms of a hard and fast distinction between pedophiles and non-pedophiles. People can behave very differently on the Internet than they do in other areas of their lives. Interacting anonymously with a computer in the safety of one’s own home encourages people to express hidden thoughts and desires.[29] Offenders vary in the strength of their interest in child pornography, as well as in the level of severity of the pornographic image to which they are attracted. From a psychological perspective, based on a typology of general pornography users,[30] the following categories of Internet child pornography users are suggested:
Variations among offenders translate into different patterns of Internet behavior. Offenders vary in the level of their involvement in Internet child pornography, the degree of networking in which they engage with other offenders, their expertise in employing security strategies to avoid detection, and the extent to which their Internet behavior involves direct sexual abuse of children. The following typology of child pornography offending has been suggested:[31]
The vast majority of children who appear in child pornography have not been abducted or physically forced to participate. [32] In most cases they know the producer—it may even be their father—and are manipulated into taking part by more subtle means. Nevertheless, to be the subject of child pornography can have devastating physical, social, and psychological effects on children.[33]
The children portrayed in child pornography are first victimized when their abuse is perpetrated and recorded. They are further victimized each time that record is accessed. In one study,[34] 100 victims of child pornography were interviewed about the effects of their exploitation—at the time it occurred and in later years. Referring to when the abuse was taking place, victims described the physical pain (e.g., around the genitals), accompanying somatic symptoms (such as headaches, loss of appetite, and sleeplessness), and feelings of psychological distress (emotional isolation, anxiety, and fear). However, most also felt a pressure to cooperate with the offender and not to disclose the offense, both out of loyalty to the offender and a sense of shame about their own behavior. Only five cases were ultimately reported to authorities. In later years, the victims reported that initial feelings of shame and anxiety did not fade but intensified to feelings of deep despair, worthlessness, and hopelessness. Their experience had provided them with a distorted model of sexuality, and many had particular difficulties in establishing and maintaining healthy emotional and sexual relationships.
The effects of pornography on users have been extensively researched but results are contentious. There are at least five possible relationships between pornography use and the sexual abuse of children:
In all likelihood, the effects of child pornography vary among users, and all of the above relationships may apply depending upon the individual in question.
In addition to child pornography, the Internet facilitates child sexual abuse in the following ways:
Computers and their associated services retain a considerable amount of evidence of their use. Determined, computer-savvy offenders may take precautions to cover their tracks, but many offenders will have neither the foresight nor the necessary expertise to do so, and will leave a trail of incriminating evidence.[45]
Internet child pornography presents some unique challenges for law enforcement agencies. These challenges include:
The information provided above is only a generalized description of Internet child pornography. You must combine the basic facts with a more specific understanding of your local problem. Analyzing the local problem carefully will help you design a more effective response strategy.
The following are some critical questions you should ask in analyzing your particular problem of Internet child pornography, even if the answers are not always readily available. Your answers to these and other questions will help you choose the most appropriate set of responses later on.
Measurement allows you to determine to what degree your efforts have succeeded, and suggests how you might modify your responses if they are not producing the intended results. You should take measures of your problem before you implement responses, to determine how serious the problem is, and after you implement them, to determine whether they have been effective. (For more detailed guidance on measuring effectiveness, see the companion guide to this series, Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory Guide for Police Problem-Solvers.)
The following are potentially useful measures of the effectiveness of responses to Internet child pornography:
Other measures are important for tracking official actions taken to address the problem. Among them are:
Your analysis of your local problem should give you a better understanding of the factors contributing to it. Once you have analyzed your local problem and established a baseline for measuring effectiveness, you should consider possible responses to address the problem.
The following response strategies provide a foundation of ideas for addressing your particular problem. These strategies are drawn from a variety of research studies and police reports. Several of these strategies may apply to your community’s problem. It is critical that you tailor responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem. Do not limit yourself to considering what police can do: carefully consider whether others in your community share responsibility for the problem and can help police respond to it.
As noted, Internet child pornography presents some unique challenges for law enforcement agencies. However, despite the difficulties involved in controlling the problem, local police have an important role to play. To maximize their contribution, local police departments need to:
It is generally acknowledged that it is impossible to totally eliminate child pornography from the Internet. However, it is possible to reduce the volume of child pornography on the Internet, to make it more difficult or risky to access, and to identify and arrest the more serious perpetrators. Since 1996, ISPs have removed some 20,000 pornographic images of children from the web.[62] Around 1,000 people are arrested annually in the United States for Internet child pornography offenses.[63] The following strategies have been used or suggested to reduce the problem of child pornography on the Internet.
ISPs have a central role to play in combating Internet child pornography. The more responsibility ISPs take in tackling the availability of child pornography images on the Internet, the more resources police can devote to addressing the production side of the problem. However, there are two competing commercial forces acting on ISPs with respect to self regulation. On the one hand, if an ISP restricts access to child pornography on its server, it may lose out financially to other ISPs who do not. Therefore, it will always be possible for offenders to find ISPs who will store or provide access to child pornography sites. On the other hand, ISPs also have their commercial reputation to protect, and it is often in their best interests to cooperate with law enforcement agencies. Most major ISPs have shown a commitment to tackling the problem of child pornography. By establishing working relationships with ISPs, and publicizing those ISPs who take self regulation seriously, police may be able to encourage greater levels of self regulation. Current self-regulatory strategies include:
Not everyone is satisfied with the current reliance on self regulation, and there have been calls for increased legislation to compel the computer industry to play a greater role in controlling Internet child pornography. Police may be an important force in lobbying for tighter restrictions. Among the proposals for tighter regulation are:
There are a number of other promising strategies involving other industries with a stake in the Internet. Again, although police may have no direct role in implementing these strategies, they may be able to use their influence to encourage industries to act. Strategies include:
Many medium to large organizations maintain their own servers, which allow employees to access the Internet from and store data on their work computer. Work computers have been implicated in a number of child pornography cases.[78] Workplace strategies may be directed toward altering the behavior of potential offenders by reinforcing the costs associated with offending.
A number of nonprofit organizations have been established to raise public awareness about the issue of Internet child pornography and to act as political lobby groups. These groups include Wired Safety, Safeguarding Our Children – United Mothers (SOC-UM), and End Child Prostitution, ChildPornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT).[80] Citizens’ groups will usually work in cooperation with law enforcement agencies, and local police can provide active support for their activities, which include:
One of the concerns about Internet child pornography is that children may inadvertently access material, or may have material sent to them either as part of a grooming process or by cyber-stalkers. A number of products are available to assist parents in regulating Internet content for their children.[81]Police can play an educative role in informing parents of these effective strategies by:
In the strategies discussed so far the police role has largely involved working in cooperation with other groups or acting as educators. A number of strategies are the primary responsibility of police. As a rule, local police will not carry out major operations. Most major operations require specialized expertise and inter-agency and inter-jurisdictional cooperation. (See Appendix C for a summary of major coordinated law enforcement operations in recent years.) However, local police will almost certainly encounter cases of Internet child pornography in the course of their daily policing activities. Law enforcement responses include:
The Internet is a global network comprising millions of smaller networks and individual computers connected by cable, telephone lines, or satellite links. The Internet permits individuals to connect with other computers around the world from the privacy of their own homes. Although the terms Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) are often used interchangeably, the web specifically refers to the worldwide collection of electronic documents and other files stored throughout the Internet (on web pages and in websites). The web accounts for 90 percent of Internet usage.[91]The web allows individuals to search for and download text, graphics, audio, and video on topics of interest from around the world. They can also upload their own electronic files for others to access. In addition to the World Wide Web, the Internet enables a number of other services and forms of communication, including e-mail, mailing lists, e-groups, newsgroups, bulletin boards, chat rooms, instant messaging, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. These services permit a user to engage in conversations with other individuals and share electronic files. Specific terms associated with the Internet, the World Wide Web, and related communication services are in the following table:
| The Internet | |
| Term | Definition [92] |
| Host | Any computer or network connected to the Internet. |
| Modem | Device for connecting a host to the Internet. Includes dial-up modems that may use standard telephone lines and dedicated cable modems. |
| Internet Protocol (IP) address | A number that uniquely identifies each host using the Internet. |
| Server | A computer configured to provide a service to other computers in a network, including access to hardware and software and centralized data storage. Different servers may be used to perform specific functions (e.g., web server or email server). |
| Internet Service Provider (ISP) | A business that provides individuals or companies access to the Internet (e.g., AOL, MSM, Earthlink). ISPs use authentication servers to verify customers’ passwords. |
| File Transfer Protocol (FTP) | A protocol that permits the downloading and uploading of electronic files. Downloading is the process by which a computer receives an electronic file from the Internet via an FTP server; uploading is the process of transferring electronic files from a computer to an FTP server on the Internet. |
| The World Wide Web | |
| Term | Definition [93] |
| Web page | An electronic document that may comprise text, graphics, audio, and video, as well as links to other pages. |
| Website | A collection of related web pages and associated media stored on a web server. |
| Home page | First page displayed on a website that usually acts as an introduction to the site. |
| Web cam | Video camera that permits live images to be displayed via a web page. |
| Universal Resource Locater (URL) | A web page’s unique location or address. |
| Web browser | Software that allows web pages to be accessed and viewed (e.g., Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla-Firefox). |
| Hyperlink | A link provided within a web page to connect other related web pages. Pop-up links not requested by the user may also appear on some web pages. |
| Search engine | A program (e.g., Google, Alta Vista) that locates websites and web pages using key words. |
| Communication Services | |
| Term | Definition [94] |
| A method of communication between individuals connected to the Internet involving the transmission of text messages and attached files. | |
| Mailing lists | A group of e-mail addresses given a common name so all members on the list receive the same message. There is a central list owner who controls who is on the list and what material can be sent. Individuals may subscribe to have their name and address added to the mailing list. |
| E-groups | Groups established to share information on a topic of common interest. Potential members need to subscribe to the group. In addition to email, an e-group may offer other features such as a chat room, a bulletin board, and a central home page. |
| Newsgroups | A site, stored on a news server, that allows contributors to have discussions about a particular subject by posting text, pictures, etc., and responding to previous posts. In most cases no one owns a newsgroup and there is no central authority. However, in some cases a password may be required, and some newsgroups filter posts through a moderator. The network of newsgroups is called Usenet. |
| Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) | Bulletin board systems, which predate the Internet, are similar to newsgroups, but tend to be in real time to allow contributors to engage in conversations. Bulletin boards are often hosted by an owner rather than a server, and may be accessed directly via a modem without going through the Internet. |
| Chat rooms | A chat room is a location on a server that permits multiple users to engage in real-time conversations and exchange electronic files. Many chat rooms are open to anyone to log into, but some are closed. They may employ a moderator, but users can nominate a pseudonym. |
| Instant messaging (IM) | Similar to chat rooms, but instant messaging permits private conversations with nominated contacts. Once a connection is established, direct contact between users is possible without the need for a central server. |
| Peer-to-peer (P2P) | A network in which each computer is an equal partner and all work cooperatively together. All computers in the network have a common file-sharing program (e.g., KaZaA, Morpheus, Limewire), allowing users to connect directly to each other’s hard drive to search for and exchange files. |
A variety of law enforcement agencies have a stake in preventing and investigating Internet child pornography. Some of these agencies have specific programs or sections to focus resources and coordinate ongoing responses. In the United States, key agencies and services include: [95]
A number of major law enforcement operations demonstrate the need for interagency and international cooperation. A summary of major operations is shown in the table below.
Appendix C: Examples of Coordinated Law Enforcement Operations
| Operation Avalanche/Ore [96] | ||
| The Problem | The Response | The Outcome |
| Landslide Productions was a child pornography company operating out of Fort Worth, Texas. Landslide had a complex network of some 5,700 websites worldwide (especially in Russia and Indonesia) that stored child pornography images. The operation in Fort Worth acted as a gateway into the network. Online customers provided credit card details to obtain network access. Landslide scrambled these credit card numbers to protect customers’ identities. There were more than 390,000 subscribers from 60 countries, generating a monthly turnover of up to $1.4 million. | The investigation began in 1999 when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service discovered that Landslide’s customers were sending monthly subscription fees to a post office box or paying them through the Internet. A joint investigation between the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), comprising more than 45 officers, was conducted over two years (Operation Avalanche). Officers cracked the code that scrambled the credit card numbers and then tracked down the card owners. Landslide’s bank accounts were seized and 160 search warrants were executed that recovered large quantities of child pornography. The investigation was expanded to include the U.K. police (Operation Ore). | To date, 120 arrests have been made in the U.S., including the two principal operators who were given life and 14year sentences respectively in 2001. In the U.K. some 7,000 customers were identified, 1,300 people arrested, and 40 children taken into protective custody. Despite closing down Landslide Productions, there has been criticism that relatively few offenders have been successfully prosecuted. |
| Operation Cathedral [97] | ||
| The Problem | The Response | The Outcome |
| The Wonderland Club was an exclusive online pedophile ring in which members reportedly had to produce 10,000 child pornography images for membership. At least 180 individuals from at least 33 countries had met this criterion, and seven members between them had contributed 750,000 images. | In 1996, two U.S. offenders charged with online child pornography offenses (the Orchid Club) cooperated with police and provided information about a British offender. Evidence from that offender’s computer hard drive led to the discovery of the Wonderland Club. The operation, conducted between 1998 and 2001, involved U.S. and British police coordinating through Interpol. Although agents were unable to gain undercover entry into the club, they were able to monitor transactions and gather evidence from the outside. Eventually, 35 members were identified. Police forces in 12 countries carried out more than 100 simultaneous raids on suspects. | The Wonderland Club was destroyed, and there were 107 arrests around the world, 14 of which were in the United States. |
| Operation Candyman [98] | ||
| The Problem | The Response | The Outcome |
| Candyman, was an open e-group maintained by Yahoo that was involved in exchanging child pornography. It had 7,000 members, 4,600 of which were in the United States and the remaining 2,400 lived around the world. | Undercover FBI agents identified and infiltrated the e-group in a year-long undercover operation ending in 2002. The task force comprised 56 FBI field officers. A court order was obtained to compel Yahoo to provide the unique e-mail addresses of all members, and subpoenas were issued to all ISPs to provide the addresses of U.S. users. | The FBI was able to obtain 1,400 addresses, from which 707 suspects were identified, 266 searches carried out, and 89 arrests made to date. Those arrested include a school bus driver, a teacher’s aide, law enforcement personnel, and clergy members. |
| Operation Pin [99] | ||
| The Problem | The Response | The Outcome |
| The operation is directed at the general proliferation of child pornography websites and the number of people accessing these sites. In particular it is aimed at casual or first-time offenders. | The operation was started in 2003 by West Midlands (U.K.) police and expanded to include the FBI, the Australian Federal Police, the Royal Canadian Mounties, and Interpol. Far from being a covert operation, it was officially launched with media releases by the relevant police forces. It is a classic honey trap operation. A website purporting to contain child pornography was set up. Visitors to the site were required to go through a series of web pages, which appeared to be identical to real web porn sites, searching for the image they wanted. At each point it was reinforced that they were in a child pornography site, and they were given the option to exit. When they did try to access an image they were told they had committed a crime. They were tracked down via their credit card details, which they were required to provide to login. | This crime prevention operation has resulted in numerous arrests; however, precise numbers are not available. Its main purpose is to make searchers of child pornography on the Internet uncertain that they can do so anonymously. Details of the sting operation were widely publicized on child pornography sites, contributing to the deterrent effect. |
The table below summarizes the responses to false burglar alarms, the mechanism by which they are intended to work, the conditions under which they ought to work best, and some factors you should consider before implementing a particular response. It is critical that you tailor responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem.
The table below summarizes the responses to Internet child pornography, the mechanisms by which they are intended to work, the conditions under which they ought to work best, and some factors you should consider before implementing a particular response. It is critical that you tailor your responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem.
| Computer Industry Self Regulation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Removing illegal sites | Reduces availability of pornography; ISPs agree voluntarily to refuse to accept child pornography sites and to remove any sites once identified | …all ISPs agree to participate | There is a financial advantage for some ISPs to continue to accept child pornography sites. Pressure may be applied to ISPs by police to increase compliance; some international ISPs are beyond the reach of formal codes of conduct |
| 2. | Establishing complaint sites/hotlines | Facilitates reporting; public is given the opportunity to report illegal sites | …existence of the complaint sites/ hotlines are widely known | Although many reported sites will have already been identified by the ISP, sites that have escaped the cyber patrols may be uncovered |
| 3. | Filtering browsers/ search engines | Prevents customers from accessing child pornography sites | …all providers agree to use filters | Not all illegal sites will be identified; applies only to child pornography located on open areas of the web |
| # | Response | How It Works | Works Best If… | Considerations |
| Legislative Regulation | ||||
| 4. | Making ISPs legally responsible for site content | Enhances screening and surveillance of child pornography; ISPs to be legally required to identify and remove illegal sites | …there is national and international consistency in legislative approach | Resisted by computer industry, which favors self-regulation; debate about the balance between protecting society and free speech |
| 5. | Requiring the preservation of ISP records | Facilitates criminal investigations; records of customers’ Internet use are retained in case required as evidence | Same as No. 4 above | Same as No. 4 above |
| 6. | Requiring user verification | Deters offenders from seeking child pornography on the World Wide Web; ISPs should require verification of an applicant’s identity before providing an account | Same as No. 4 above | Same as No. 4 above; this problem will become more critical as greater integration of Internet and mobile phone services occurs |
| 7. | Regulating anonymous remailers | Reduces anonymity of offenders; remailer administrators are made legally responsible for material forwarded | Same as No. 4 above | Same as No. 4 above |
| 8. | Using key escrowed encryption | Reduces anonymity of offenders; encryption keys held by a trusted third party | Same as No. 4 above | Same as No. 4 above |
| # | Response | How It Works | Works Best If… | Considerations |
| Strategies for Related Industries | ||||
| 9. | Blocking credit card transactions | Deters offenders and/or reduces profitability of online child pornography; credit card companies refuse to authorize payments for child pornography | …all companies agree to participate | Not all child pornography requires payment |
| 10. | Boycotting sites by advertisers | Reduces profitability of online child pornography; companies refuse to place advertisements on networks that carry child pornography | …the boycott is widespread and highly publicized | The aim of boycotts is to pressure service providers to monitor illegal activity |
| Workplace Responses | ||||
| 11. | Adopting and enforcing workplace codes of conduct | Deters offenders by removing excuses for using workplace computers to access child pornography; organizations that maintain their own servers have explicit policies governing computer use by staff | …codes are formal and clearly communicated to all staff | Applies only to child pornography accessed or stored at work |
| 12. | Auditing computer use | Deters offenders by increasing surveillance of their computer use; staff Internet use is routinely monitored | …staff are aware in advance that audits will be conducted | Same as No. 11 above |
| 13. | Filtering web usage | Reduces access to online child pornography; companies restrict the sites that employees may visit | Same as No. 11 above | Same as No. 11 above |
| # | Response | How It Works | Works Best If… | Considerations |
| Citizens' Groups | ||||
| 14. | Educating the public | Enhances awareness and improves web surveillance; information is provided to parents and teachers about Internet child pornography | …it is done in cooperation with law enforcement agencies | Directed mainly toward preventing online exploitation of children and access by children to child pornography |
| 15. | Searching the Internet | Enhances web surveillance; hotlines and Internet searches by volunteers identify child pornography sites | Same as No. 14 above | Volunteers need to be careful not to download pornography and thus commit a crime |
| # | Response | How It Works | Works Best If… | Considerations |
| Parental Strategies | ||||
| 16. | Encouraging parents to use filtering software | Reduces exposure of children to online child pornography; software installed on home computers that restricts sites that may be visited and/or keeps a record of sites visited | …combined with supervision of children’s computer use and education about appropriate sites | Specifically targets children’s access to child pornography; police have a role in educating the public about safe Internet use |
| 17. | Encouraging parents to review web ratings | Reduces exposure of children to online child pornography; websites independently rated for age suitability | Same as No. 16 above | Same as No. 16 above |
| 18. | Promoting the use of child-oriented search engines | Reduces exposure of children to online child pornography; search engines specifically designed for children, where sites are manually inspected for inappropriate material | Same as No. 16 above | Same as No. 16 above |
| # | Response | How It Works | Works Best If… | Considerations |
| Law Enforcement Responses | ||||
| 19. | Locating child pornography sites | Increases an offender’s risk of apprehension; law enforcement agencies conduct their own searches of the Internet for child pornography | …coordinated with other agencies and jurisdictions | Requires specialized expertise to access hidden areas of the Internet |
| 20. | Conducting undercover sting operations | Deters offenders through increased risk of apprehension; undercover law enforcement agents enter pedophile newsgroups, etc., to collect evidence against offenders | Same as No. 19 above | Same as No. 19 above; may target novice or low-level offenders |
| 21. | Setting up honey trap sites | Increases an offender’s risk of apprehension; phony child pornography sites are established that capture the details of offenders who attempt to access the supposed pornography | …the existence of the sites is widely publicized to increase the deterrent effect | Same as No. 20 above |
| 22. | Publicizing crackdowns | Increases the perception among offenders that the Internet is an unsafe environment to access child pornography | …publicity is widespread and sustained | Same as No. 20 above |
| 23. | Conducting traditional criminal investigations | Increases an offender’s risk of apprehension; police uncover information about child pornography in the course of their daily work | …police have strong links with key community groups | Key role for local police |
| # | Response | How It Works | Works Best If… | Considerations |
| Responses With Limited Effectiveness | ||||
| 24. | Engaging in vigilantism | Increases an offender’s risk of apprehension; vigilantes disable suspected offenders’ computers and disrupt pedophile newsgroups | Actions may be illegal | |
[1] Tate (1990); Tyler (1985).
[2] Crewdson (1988); Tate (1990).
[3] Jewkes and Andrews (2005); Williams (2003).
[4] Wolak et al. (2003).
[5] Jenkins (2001).
[6] Alder (2001); Esposito (1998); Graham, (2000)[Full Text]; Grasz and Pfaltzgraff (1998)[Full Text]; Klain, Davies, and Hicks (2001)[Full Text]; Linz and Imrich (2001).
[7] Sexual Exploitation of Children Act (Pub.L. 95-225, 92 Stat. 7); New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747 (1982); Child Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2251, 2252, et seq.); United States v. Dost, 636 F.Supp. 828, 832 (S.D. Cal. 1986), aff’d sub nom.; United States v. Wiegand, 812 F.2d 1239, 1244-45 (9th Cir. 1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 856 (1987); Child Protection and Obscenity [9] Enforcement Act (amending § 2251, 2252); Osborne v. Ohio, 495 U.S. 103 (1990); Child Pornography Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2252A, 2256(8)); Child Protector and Sexual Predator Punishment Act (42 U.S.C. § 13032); Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (2002).
[8] United States v. Knox, 32 F.3d 733 (3d Cir. 1994), cert denied, 513 U.S. 1109 (1995).
[9] Jenkins (2001).
[10] Klain, Davies, and Hicks (2001)[Full Text].
[11] Taylor, Holland, and Quayle (2001)[Full Text].
[12] Lanning and Burgess (1989).
[13] Blundell et al. (2002); Calder (2004); Ferraro et al. (2004); Jenkins (2001); U.S. General Accounting Office (2003)[Full Text].
[14] Khan (2000)[Full Text].
[15] Forde and Patterson (1998)[Full Text]; Jenkins (2001); Lesce (1999)[Full Text].
[16] Burke et al. (2002).
[17] Forde and Patterson (1998)[Full Text]; Jenkins (2001); Lesce (1999)[Full Text].
[18] Wellard (2001)[Full Text].
[19] Carr (2004)[Full Text].
[20] Jenkins, (2001).
[21] Jenkins (2001).
[22] Simon (2000).
[23] Dobson (2003); Wellard (2001)[Full Text].
[24] Smallbone and Wortley (2000)[Full Text].
[25] Blundell et al. (2002); Schwartz and Southern (2000).
[26] Calder (2004).
[27] Blundell et al. (2002); Schneider (2000).
[28] Linz and Imrich (2001).
[29] Quayle and Taylor (2001).
[30] Cooper et al. (1999).
[31] Krone (2004)[Full Text].
[32] Lanning and Burgess (1989).
[33] Klain, Davies, and Hicks (2001)[Full Text].
[34] Silbert (1989).
[35] Marshall (2000).
[36] Marshall (1988); Proulx, Perreult, and Ouimet (1999).
[37] Linz and Imrich (2001); Marshall (2000).
[38] Kennedy-Souza (1998); Taylor and Quayle (2003).
[39] Goldstein (1999).
[40] O'Connell (2001).
[41] Aftab (2000).
[42] Finkelhor, Mitchell, and Wolak (2000)[Full Text]; Donnerstein (2002).
[43] Aloysius (2001).
[44] Calder (2004).
[45] Ferraro et al. (2004).
[46] Ferraro et al. (2004).
[47] Grant, David, and Grabosky (1997).
[48] Ferraro et al. (2004); Graham (2000)[Full Text].
[49] U.S. General Accounting Office (2003)[Full Text].
[50] Jewkes and Andrews (2005).
[51] Graham (2000)[Full Text]; Stanley (2001)[Full Text]; Thomas (1997).
[52] Jenkins (2001).
[53] Grant, David, and Grabosky (1997).
[54] Krone (2004)[Full Text].
[55] Khan (2000)[Full Text].
[56] Jenkins (2001).
[57] Burke et al. (2002); Forde and Patterson (1998)[Full Text]; Mostyn (2000); Thornburgh and Lin (2002).
[58] Jewkes and Andrews (2005).
[59] Jewkes and Andrews (2005).
[60] Jewkes and Andrews (2005).
[61] Taylor and Quayle (2003).
[62] Wellard (2001)[Full Text].
[63] Wolak et al. (2003).
[64] Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime (2000)[Full Text].
[65] Stewart (1997).
[66] Thornburgh and Lin (2002); Lee, Hui, and Fong (2003).
[67] Wang et al. (1998).
[68] Klain, Davies, and Hicks (2001)[Full Text]; Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime (2000)[Full Text].
[69] Stanley (2001)[Full Text].
[70] Ferraro et al. (2004); Kreston (2004).
[71] Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime (2000)[Full Text].
[72] Carr (2004)[Full Text].
[73] Mostyn (2000).
[74] Graham (2000)[Full Text].
[75] Taylor and Quayle (2006) [Abstract Only ].
[76] Anonymous (2003); Sutton and Jones (2004)[Full Text].
[77] Adegoke (2003).
[78] Ferraro et al. (2004).
[79] Lee, Hui, and Fong (2003).
[80] Arnaldo (2000).
[81] Aftab (2001); Lee, Hui, and Fong (2003); Thornburgh and Lin (2002); Wang et al. (1998).
[82] U.S. Department of Justice (2004)[Full Text].
[83] Avarda, Colorado Police Department (1996)[Full Text]; Lesce (1999)[Full Text].
[84] Duff-Brown (2005)
[85] BBC News (13 February 2001); BBC News (11 November 2002); BBC News (18 December 2003).
[86] DeMarco (2005).
[87] Jenkins (2001).
[88] Lesce (1999)[Full Text].
[89] Simon (2000).
[90] Grant, David, and Grabosky (1997); Jenkins (2001).
[91] Arnaldo (2001).
[92] Calder (2004); Ferraro et al. (2004); Shelley, Cashman, and Vermaat (2004).
[93] Calder (2004); Ferraro et al. (2004); Shelley, Cashman, and Vermaat (2004).
[94] Blundell et al. (2002); Calder (2004); Ferraro et al. (2004); Jenkins (2001); Thornburgh and Lin (2002).
[95] U.S. General Accounting Office (2002)[Full Text]; Klain, Davies, and Hicks (2001)[Full Text].
[96] BBC News (11 November 2002); Jewkes and Andrews (2005); U.S. Postal Inspection Service (n.d.)[Full Text].
[97] BBC News (13 February 2001); Graham (2000)[Full Text].
[98] Federal Bureau of Investigation (March 18 2002)[Full Text].
[99] BBC News (18 December 2003).
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Important!
The quality and focus of these submissions vary considerably. With the exception of those submissions selected as winners or finalists, these documents are unedited and are reproduced in the condition in which they were submitted. They may nevertheless contain useful information or may report innovative projects.
Crimes Against Children Unit, Arvada Police Department (Arvada, CO, US), 1996
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