Ten thousand victims of child sexual abuse around the world have now been identified through INTERPOL’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database.
The only global platform of its kind, INTERPOL’s ICSE database enables specialist officers to use sophisticated image and video comparison software to make connections between victims, abusers and locations.
By analysing the digital, visual and audio content of photographs and videos, victim identification experts can retrieve clues, identify any overlap in cases and combine their efforts to locate the victims.
Available through INTERPOL’s secure global police communications system, I-24/7, certified users in member countries can access the database directly and in real time, providing immediate responses to queries related to child sexual exploitation investigations.
In one case, officers in the UK were able to identify and arrest a suspected abuser and rescue the victim just 10 hours after images were shared via the ISCE database. Photos of an unknown location and offender uploaded by Australia, were then identified by specialists in the US, which together with INTERPOL’s Crimes Against Children unit issued an alert to UK authorities.
INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock said the rescue of victims around the world underlined the value of transnational police cooperation via INTERPOL’s unique global platform.
“Whilst we are pleased to have assisted law enforcement around the world identify and rescue 10,000 victims of child abuse, this is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Secretary General Stock.
“The scale of this crime is shocking, made worse by the fact that these images can be shared online globally at the touch of a button and can exist forever. Each time an image or video clip is shared or viewed, the child is being re-victimized.
INTERPOL
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