Statement by Rep. Bob Franks (R-NJ). Re: proposal to create a national center to combat Internet crimes against children. Date: March 7, 2000. Source: Office of Rep. Franks. This page was created by converting an MS Word file into HTML.

Statement by Congressman Bob Franks
Internet Crimes Against Children Training Center
March 7, 2000

The Internet has opened up an exciting world of discovery for our children.  Across America, an estimated 15 million kids have access to the Internet.

But this extraordinarily powerful learning tool can also have a dark and threatening side.  Pedophiles and other criminals are using the Internet to contact our children in those places where we want to believe they are most secure --  in our homes, our schools and our libraries.

The reality is that with a few clicks of a mouse, our children can be exposed to child pornography or other materials even adults would find outrageously offensive.

Our kids can enter a chatroom on the Internet and find themselves engaging in what they believe are innocent conversations -- but the fact is they are talking to sick individuals who are potentially out to harm them.

The reality of this growing threat to our children's safety hit home when I visited an FBI facility in Somerset County.  I watched as an FBI agent posed as a 12-year-old girl and connected to a chatroom. Within minutes, she was deluged by sexually explicit conversations with dozens of older men.

In increasing numbers, children are being exploited over the Internet.  In fact, the New Jersey State Police High Tech Crime Unit has experienced a 300 percent increase in computer-related crimes against children since it was established in 1997.

The FBI has been the national leader in investigating crimes involving the Internet.  But with the explosive growth in home computers and children accessing the Internet, the FBI can no longer fight this high-tech crime battle on its own.

Law enforcement officials at all levels need to be trained and prepared to track down and prosecute criminals who use the Internet to exploit our children.

Today, I am announcing the introduction of legislation that would establish a national center to combat Internet crimes against children.

The center, which would be operated by the FBI, would train local and state police officers from across the country.  Its principle mission would be to provide law enforcement personnel with the best available techniques for conducting an investigation into computer crimes involving children.

To be called the Innocent Images Online Training Center, the center would be located in Calverton, Maryland near the facility that currently houses the FBI's division for investigating Internet crimes against children -- dubbed Innocent Images.

The center would focus its training on investigating child pornography, as well as cases involving the sexual exploitation of children.

Local police would receive expert advice on collecting evidence and investigating computer crimes once they have been discovered.  In addition, they would learn how to protect our children from becoming the victims of crime by using undercover sting operations to catch pedophiles and kiddie porn operators.

Law enforcement officials on the local, state and federal levels are more than familiar with these gruesome crimes against our children. However, with the advent of the computer, criminal investigations have become more complex.  In order to ensure that evidence is preserved and crimes are investigated in a timely manner, the proper training of local officers in state-of-the art techniques is crucial.

The more uniformity we have in our criminal investigation procedures, the more success we will have in locking up those cyber stalkers who prey on our children.

As co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, I recognize that it's our children who face the greatest risk of becoming the victims of Internet crime.

An all-out, coordinated effort  among federal, state and local law enforcement is essential to confront and overcome this very real and serious threat to our children's safety.

A national training center, operated by the FBI, is the starting point for building a highly trained cadre of law enforcement officers  around the country who will be working every day to protect our children on the Internet.