Pursuant to Section 104 of the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008, the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force shall 1) consist of State and local investigators, prosecutors, forensic specialists, and education specialists who are dedicated to addressing the goals of the task force; 2) engage in proactive investigations, forensic examinations, and effective prosecutions of Internet crimes against children; 3) provide forensic, preventive, and investigative assistance to parents, educator, prosecutors, law enforcement, and others concerned with Internet crimes against children; 4) develop multijurisdictional, multiagency responses and partnerships to Internet crimes against children offenses through ongoing informational, administrative, and technological support to other State and local law enforcement agencies, as a means for such agencies to acquire the necessary knowledge, personnel, and specialized equipment to investigate and prosecute such offenses; 5) participate in nationally coordinated investigations in any case in which the Attorney General determines such participation to be necessary, as permitted by the available resource of such task force; 6) establish or adopt investigative and prosecution standards consistent with norms, to which such task force shall comply; 7) investigate, and seek prosecution on, tips related to Internet crimes against children, including tips from Operation Fairplay, the National Internet Crimes Against Children Data System, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline, ICAC task forces, and other Federal, State, and local agencies, with priority being given to investigate leads that indicate possibility of identifying or rescuing child victims, including investigative leads that indicate a likelihood of seriousness of offense or dangerousness to the community; 8) develop procedures for handling seized evidence; 9) maintain reports required by OJJDP and other reports and records as determined by the Attorney General; and 10) seek to comply with national standards regarding the investigation and prosecution of Internet crimes against children, as set forth by the Attorney General, to the extent such standards are consistent with the law of the State where the task force is located.
This grant will support the Utah Attorney General's Office in maintaining and enhancing the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (UT ICAC) program to address technology-facilitated child exploitation in order to prevent, interdict, investigate, and prosecute Internet crimes against children. The UT ICAC plans to accomplish the following goals: 1)increase training opportunities for affiliates, nonmember law enforcement agencies, and primary task force agents through conducting four specialized trainings for law enforcement officers; 2) continue to expand multijurisdictional, multiagency partnerships and responses to Internet crimes against children offenses through ongoing informational, administrative, and technological support to state and local law enforcement agencies by conducting quarterly on-site meetings and trainings; 3) increase the number of ICAC cases being investigated and prosecuted in both federal and state courts by expanding the number of affiliate ICAC agencies; and 4) continue the Officer Wellness Program. Grant funds will support personnel costs for the ICAC TF commander position to coordinate and manage task force activities, overtime costs for UT AG ICAC investigators, training costs to enhance capacity of task force agencies to investigate and prosecute ICAC cases, forensic software license and maintenance costs necessary to investigate cases, and other investigative support costs such as internet access and cell phone plans. In addition, the UT AG's Office will support contract costs for a mental health provider for officer wellness activities.
NCA/CF