[Europol press releases] Violent Crimes Against Children International Task Force meets at Europol

Source: mass emailing

Task Force meets at Europol

Violent Crimes Against Children International Task Force meets at Europol This week, the FBI and the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) at Europol jointly hosted the 3rd Violent Crimes Against Children International Task Force (VCACITF) case coordination meeting in The Hague. 37 International Task Force Officers (ITFOs) from 28 countries and over 30 US and Europol law enforcement officials came together to focus on initiating and coordinating multinational sexual-crimes-against-children investigations. The meeting provides a forum for the experts to exchange intelligence, disseminate time-sensitive leads and discuss emerging trends, technologies and best practice investigative techniques. The meeting resulted in the initiation of several new multinational investigations, and actionable leads developed from collaborated efforts were disseminated regarding multiple ongoing priority investigations. Other topics discussed included more effective engagement against priority targets, overcoming judicial challenges and using a 'force multiplier' approach through increased operational collaboration and intelligence sharing. The FBI and EC3 at Europol share a common belief in the critical importance of international cooperation to successful law enforcement, and Europol has become a key strategic partner for the FBI in child protection matters. Troels Oerting, Head of the European Cybercrime Centre said: "These last four days, during which close to 70 law enforcement experts from 28 countries have exchanged intelligence and prepared new cases against child sexual abusers, is a profound example of the dedication and focus that the FBI, EC3 and our global partners have towards these awful crimes. Paedophile networks are making maximum use of the Dark and Deep nets' possibility to hide, but this will not stop the efforts from our side to identify and hunt down the networks. The outcome of the operational days will be more cases and more arrests - and most importantly the identification and rescue of many more innocent children who are abused by those they trust most - the adults. Work will also continue after the last colleague has left the meeting room, as several new operations were agreed upon. We have had a productive few days, which is very encouraging."

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