Central Illinois Law Enforcement Gets $500k Grant to Fight Internet Predators!
This is good news: eight law enforcement agencies in central Illinois are receiving funds from the federal government to combat child sexual predators online. I found many article on it and I have put some links below, but here is the gist (culminated from all sources)…
Eight police agencies in Illinois will share in nearly a half-million dollars of federal grant money to continue or strengthen the fight against child sexual predators.
The funding comes from the Child Sexual Predator Program, an initiative implemented by the Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).
The $496,732 grant comes from the Child Sexual Predator Program, an initiative implemented by the Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). The proposal was one of only 26 accepted in the country. The funds will be shared equally by the following agencies:
- Bloomington Police Department
- Champaign Police Department
- Decatur Police Department
- Mattoon Police Department
- Moline Police Department
- Peoria Police Department
- Peoria County Sheriff’s Office
- Quincy Police Department
Money will be used for a variety of things, including updated computers and software, training officers how to be undercover while on the web, help police track child porn, enforcing sex offender registration laws, and identifying new child predators and prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law. If you live in the area, give your police department a round of applause for taking active steps in making your area safer from child predators!
Here are some links to local coverage:
- Champaign Police Get Funding to Fight Child Predators
By Christa Dubson/ WCIA 3 News - Decatur, Mattoon among police agencies receiving grant to fight sex crimes
By Herb Meeker – H&R Staff Writer - Moline PD gets money to fight sexual predators
By Thomas Geyer, Quad-City Times - Moline Police Department Receives Grant
KWOC-TV/ NBC 6 - Quincy police fight child predators
KHQA-TV/ ABC 7
Of course, we have a few things that can help too! For starters, if parents have PC Pandora on the computer at home, they have a sure-fire way to keep their kids safe online. Maybe grant money can be used to buy copies for local families… Secondly, we have our PD Pandora Internet Safety Symposium that anyone can take and use to spread Internet safety awareness in their community. It is also FREE and can also be used as a fundraising vehicle!
Just an FYI…