Overview
The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program (ICAC program) helps state and local law enforcement agencies develop an effective response to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and Internet crimes against children. This help encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, and community education.
The ICAC program was developed in 1988, in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the Internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse images available electronically, and heightened online activity by predators seeking unsupervised contact with potential underage victims.
In FY 2022, ICAC task forces—comprising more than 4,719 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies throughout the 50 states—have reviewed 1,575,032 million reports of online child exploitation, resulting in the arrest of more than 128,900 people, since the program’s inception in 1998.
During the same period, more than 850,028 law enforcement officers, prosecutors and other professionals have been trained on techniques to investigate and prosecute ICAC-related cases. In FY 2022 alone, the task forces conducted approximately 167,397 investigations of technology-facilitated crimes against children. The task forces also continued to focus on public awareness and education, making 11,102 presentations on Internet safety.
The ICAC task forces conducted 2,869 regional law enforcement trainings on child exploitation in FY 2022. Approximately 42,700 people attended these trainings, which provided a forum for information sharing and collaboration among federal state, Tribal, and local agencies to combat technology-facilitated crimes against children.
Programs and Funding
In FY 2022, funding for the ICAC program totaled $31.2 million to support ICAC task forces and training and technical assistance. ICAC Task Force Program funding is supported under the Missing and Exploited Children appropriation included in the Department of Justice fiscal year appropriation.
Funding History
- FY 2020: $34.73 million
- FY 2021: $34.68 million
- FY 2022: $31.2 million
Training and Technical Assistance
The ICAC Training and Technical Assistance Program was established to provide ICAC task forces and their affiliates with the training and technical assistance they need to conduct effective investigations and prosecutions. Training providers include the following:
- SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, provides training related to social networking sites, peer to peer file sharing, wireless networks, and cell phone technology for law enforcement, prosecutors and allied professionals.
- The National White Collar Crime Center provides training for law enforcement, prosecutors, and other stakeholders in the ICAC program to improve investigative, prosecutorial, and forensic capabilities; create and distribute guidelines, best practices, and investigative methodologies; and coordinate meetings with grantees and practitioners.
- The Innocent Justice Foundation provides a comprehensive mental health and wellness program for ICAC task forces to address negative effects and trauma for individuals exposed to child sexual abuse images through their work.
- Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) provides training focused on investigative techniques and best practices for undercover operations to combat Internet crimes against children and site-specific technical assistance to ICAC Task Forces.
- The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® facilitates training to law enforcement; prosecutors; and criminal- and juvenile-justice, child-serving, and healthcare professionals on issues related to missing and exploited children.
Contacts
Visit the ICAC Task Force Contact Information section of the ICAC Task Force Program website for state-specific contacts and websites.
Resources
OJJDP Publications
AMBER Alert Field Guide for Law Enforcement Officers
May 2019. The purpose of this guide is to provide law enforcement officers with information that will enable them to avoid or mitigate critical “pitfalls” when working a child abduction case. 37 pages. NCJ 252795.
PDF
Protecting Children in Cyberspace: The ICAC Task Force Program
Bulletin, January 2002. Discusses efforts by OJJDP's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program that address emerging online threats, such as computer-facilitated sex crimes, directed at children and teenagers. 8 pages. NCJ 191213.
PDF (204 KB) | HTML
Protecting Children Online: Using Research-Based Algorithms to Prioritize Law Enforcement Internet Investigations, Technical Report
OJJDP-Sponsored, May 2016. This project used data from 20 Internet Crimes Against Children task forces to develop empirically-based recommendations to assist law enforcement conducting Internet investigations. 54 pages. NCJ 250154.
PDF
Review of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program: Interim Report to the Attorney General Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011
This interim report features data covering fiscal years 2010 and 2011 and is intended to provide a summary of the ICAC program’s statistical accomplishments. 76 pages.
PDF
National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction Report to Congress
August 2010. In complying with the provisions of the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008, the U.S. Justice Department presents this second report to Congress on a National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, which is the culmination of a year of discussions among members of an interagency working group convened by the National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction at the Justice Department. 166 pages.
PDF
Press Releases
- Department Of Justice Awards Nearly $105 Million To Protect Children From Exploitation, Trauma and Abuse
- Justice Department Recognized Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Employees with Missing Children's Child Protection Award
- Justice Department Recognized NCIS Team with Missing Children's Law Enforcement Award
- Justice Department Recognizes Wisconsin ICAC Task Force Members and an Assistant U.S. Attorney with Attorney General’s Special Commendation
Related Websites
Project Safe Childhood
Project Safe Childhood combats the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children.