The National Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program, as established by the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008, consists of State and local law enforcement task forces dedicated to developing effective responses to online enticement of children by sexual predators, child exploitation, and child obscenity and pornography cases. Each State and local task force that is part of the national program 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, educators, prosecutors, law enforcement, and others concerned with Internet crimes against children; 4) develop multijurisdictional, multiagency partnerships and responses 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 established 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 the 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 for ICAC task force lead agencies and affiliate agencies; 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 project will support the Utah Attorney General's (AG) Office in maintaining and enhancing the Utah ICAC Task Force program. The Utah AG's Office will manage the daily operations of the Task Force and plans to accomplish the following goals: 1) increase training opportunities for Task Force members and non-members; 2) continue to expand multijurisdictional, multiagency partnerships and responses to ICAC offenses through ongoing informational, administrative, and technological support to affiliate law enforcement agencies by conducting quarterly on-site meetings and trainings; and 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. Grant funds will support personnel costs for the ICAC Task Force Commander position to coordinate and manage task force activities; overtime costs for Utah AG investigators; training costs to enhance the capacity in areas such as forensics, peer-to-peer investigations, polygraph examinations, and undercover chat investigations; forensic software license and maintenance costs necessary to investigate cases; purchase of desktop computers; officer wellness costs; and other investigative support costs such as internet access and cell phone plans. NCA/CF
