Study Shows Large Increase in Internet Predator Arrests
A study from last week shows that more people have been arrested in recent years for sexually soliciting youths online. Officials are saying the sharp increase comes from better enforcement, not necessarily an increase in the number of predators on the web.
Researchers saw a nearly fivefold jump in arrests for soliciting undercover investigators who posed as juveniles — to 3,100 in 2006, from 644 in 2000, the last time the study was conducted. By contrast, arrests for solicitations of actual children increased 21 percent to about 615 in 2006, from an estimated 508 in 2000, during a period in which Internet usage also grew sharply.
This is of course good news. The pundits and self-proclaimed experts, however, are trying to spin this as: “See, there aren’t more predators, we’re just catching more.”
But talk to the cops and they’ll tell you that this number is still just the tip of the iceberg and they don’t have nearly as many resources as they should. Almost every law enforcement individual I have talked to has said we can’t arrest our way out of this situation – so as great as these numbers are, parents need to continue to do their job at home…
That means they need to closely monitor who their kids are talking to and what they are doing online. That’s why we made PC Pandora computer monitoring software… we want to help parents know that their kids are safe online or intervene and act if necessary.
You can’t keep them safe if you don’t know what they are doing… guessing is an open door for disaster.
Here is the press release and a story from the AP on the study…
National Study Finds Large Increase in Arrests of Online Predators in Undercover Operations
A new study finds dramatic growth nationwide in arrests of online predators who solicited law enforcement investigators decoyed as juveniles. The numbers nearly quintupled from 644 in 2000 to 3,100 in 2006, according to the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.
Newswise — A new study finds dramatic growth nationwide in arrests of online predators who solicited law enforcement investigators decoyed as juveniles. The numbers nearly quintupled from 644 in 2000 to 3,100 in 2006, according to the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.
During the same period, arrests of individuals for soliciting juveniles themselves grew a comparatively modest 21 percent, from an estimated 508 arrests in 2000 to an estimated 615 in 2006, at a time when youth Internet use was growing from 73 percent to 93 percent.
The report, “Trends in Arrests of ‘Online Predators’,” cautions against parents and policy makers rushing to conclude that the increasing numbers of arrests means the Internet is an especially dangerous environment for children.
“Online predator arrests comprise only 1 percent of arrests for sex crimes committed against minors. The recent growth in arrests is best explained by increasing numbers of youth online, migration of crime from offline to online venues and the intensification of law enforcement activity against online crimes,” said Janis Wolak, co-director of the study with CCRC senior researcher Kimberly Mitchell.
The growth in arrests coincided with a large expansion of federally funded Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces, revisions of state statutes to criminalize online sexual solicitations, the promotion of reporting mechanisms such as the CyberTipline run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and greater public awareness about the problem.
The report points out that the increases in arrests of online predators occurred during a time when overall sex crimes against children were declining, as indicated by national arrest, police report and survey data.
The report findings are based on the National Juvenile Online Victimization (N‐JOV) Study conducted by the UNH Crimes against Children Research Center and funded by the Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Researchers collected data from a national sample of law enforcement agencies about crimes by online predators during two 12-month periods: July 1, 2000, through June 30, 2001, and calendar year 2006. The study is the only systematic research that examines the number of arrests of these offenders, the characteristics of their crimes and the scope of related law enforcement activity.
Key Findings
- Between 2000 and 2006, there was a 21 percent increase in arrests of offenders who solicited youth online for sex. During the same time, there was a 381 percent increase in arrests of offenders who solicited undercover investigators posing as youth.
- In 2006 of those arrested for soliciting online, 87 percent solicited undercover investigators and 13 percent solicited youth.
- During the same period that online predator arrests were increasing, overall sex offenses against children and adolescents were declining, as were overall arrests for such crimes.
- Arrests of online predators in 2006 constituted about 1 percent of all arrests for sex crimes committed against children and youth.
- During the interval between the two studies (2000 and 2006), the percentage of U.S. youth Internet users ages 12‐17 increased from 73 percent to 93 percent.
- Although arrests of online predators are increasing, especially arrests for soliciting undercover law enforcement, the facts do not suggest that the Internet is facilitating an epidemic of sex crimes against youth. Rather, increasing arrests for online predation probably reflect increasing rates of youth Internet use, a migration of crime from offline to online venues and the growth of law enforcement activity against online crimes.
- The nature of crimes in which online predators used the Internet to meet and victimize youth changed little between 2000 and 2006, despite the advent of social networking sites. Victims were adolescents, not younger children. Most offenders were open about their sexual motives in their online communications with youth. Few crimes (5 percent) involved violence.
- There was no evidence that online predators were stalking or abducting unsuspecting victims based on information they posted at social networking sites.
- There was a significant increase in arrests of young adult offenders, ages 18 to 25.
- Few of those arrested for online predation were registered sex offenders (4 percent).
The study was conducted by UNH Crimes against Children Research Center: Janis Wolak, senior researcher; David Finkelhor, director and professor of sociology; and Kimberly Mitchell, senior researcher. The report is available at http://www.unh.edu/news/NJOV2.pdf.
The UNH Crimes against Children Research Center (CCRC) works to combat crimes against children by providing high-quality research and statistics to the public, policy makers, law enforcement personnel, and other child welfare practitioners. CCRC is concerned with research about the nature of crimes including child abduction, homicide, rape, assault, and physical and sexual abuse as well as their impact. Visit the center online at http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/index.html.
The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea and space-grant university, UNH is the state’s flagship public institution, enrolling 11,800 undergraduate and 2,400 graduate students
Study: Enforcement spurs rise in Web sex arrests
By Anick JesdanunNEW YORK (AP) — More people have been arrested in recent years for sexually soliciting youths online, but the sharp increase comes from better enforcement, and the Internet remains a relatively safe social environment, researchers said in a new study.
In a report to be released Tuesday, the researchers saw a nearly fivefold jump in arrests for soliciting undercover investigators who posed as juveniles — to 3,100 in 2006, from 644 in 2000, the last time the study was conducted.
By contrast, arrests for solicitations of actual children increased 21 percent to about 615 in 2006, from an estimated 508 in 2000, during a period in which Internet usage also grew sharply.
The disparity indicates that the rise in arrests largely results from tighter enforcement rather than from an increase in the number of offenders, said David Finkelhor, director of the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center, which conducted the study. Otherwise, he said, the rate of growth for the two groups would be more similar.
Throughout the decade, the federal government helped fund Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces across the country, while some states have updated their laws to address online solicitations.
The large increase in arrests shows that such efforts are working, said John Palfrey, an Internet safety expert at Harvard University who was not involved in the study.
“The law enforcement community should take pride in the fact that they are doing some things right,” said Palfrey, who recently headed a task force charged with assessing technologies for protecting children from unwanted contact online.
The New Hampshire center’s data from 2000 have been widely cited in Internet safety circles, but they predate the popularity of social networks such as News Corp.’s MySpace. In providing the update, the researchers are hoping to assuage fears parents may have about their children spending time in such online hangouts.
Researchers did see solicitations shift from chat rooms, where children used to be propositioned most frequently, to online social networks, as young people spend more time there. But the researchers found no evidence that minors were being lured by predators based on the personal information they post. Rather, they said, youths often were actively seeking relationships with people they knew to be adults.
The researchers also say that the arrests of online predators in 2006 represent just 1 percent of all arrests for sex crimes against minors, which declined overall.
Both sets of arrest figures represent estimates from mail and telephone surveys with more than 2,500 law-enforcement agencies. The 2000 study was based on arrests from July 1, 2000, to June 30, 2001, while the 2006 data were for that calendar year.
A small number of individuals were arrested for both soliciting an undercover agent and a child; those cases were included only in the total for youths.
