The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction

TABLE 1: PARTICIPANT EVALUATIONS OF 2008 PROJECT SAFE CHILDHOOD CONFERENCE(N=939)Percent of FavorableResponses from participants“The conference program 100%was relevant to my needs.”“I would attend the 97%conference next year.”I would recommend the 97%conference to others in myfield.”Source: Fox Valley Technical CollegeThis program, which has been funded by the Department for many years, is critical to thecontinued success of the Department’s efforts to prevent and interdict child exploitation.H. Child Exploitation Computer ForensicsAs noted in the Threat Assessment, some of the most egregious and threatening childexploitation crimes are facilitated by the Internet and the use of computers and other digitalmedia. The forensic analysis of the computers is the most important aspect of the investigation.Computer forensic examinations that provide investigators and prosecutors the information theyneed – a when they need it – are absolutely critical to the investigation and prosecution of theseserious crimes. Investigation of these crimes is not simple, however, due to the challenges thatever-advancing technology presents to law enforcement.Ensuring that timely and adequate computer forensics analysis is provided in child exploitationinvestigations and prosecutions has become increasingly difficult. The sheer volume of theincrease of persons using computers and the Internet is one reason. The number of U.S.households having at least one computer rose from 22.9% in 1993 to 61.8% in 2003. It isestimated that today more than 80% of U.S. households have a computer. In 1997, thepercentage of households with Internet access was 18%. By 2009, that percentage had increasedto 68.7%. Additionally, it is increasingly easy and inexpensive for individuals to acquire andstore large amounts of data. Digital media storage capacity has soared while the cost of storingthe data has plummeted. For example, the cost of storing one gigabyte of data in 1995 wasapproximately $1,000. By 2009, terabyte (1,000 gigabyte) hard drives for home use wereavailable and the cost to store one gigabyte of data approximately 10¢. Further, as described inthe Threat Assessment, the wide variety of ever-changing/evolving technologies being used byoffenders seriously challenge law enforcement’s ability to keep pace.1. State and Local AgenciesThe majority of computer forensic examinations conducted in child exploitation investigationsare performed by State and local law enforcement agencies. Of the more than 17,000 State,130