| The Missing Battalion: Why We Must Unite Weapons and Warriors Against Child Pornography |
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Instead of devolving into a tirade
about what is wrong with society, technology or criminal justice, I’m going to
go a different route with this article
much like how the NLC combats child exploitation. We work towards
proactive solutions, advocacy and education.
I believe there is a "missing battalion" in the war against child pornography, an elite combination of knowledge and firepower that the NLC is working to harness and bring to bear upon child predators. I have attended several technology shows in the past few months and seen an overwhelming number of quality businesses that are providing innovative digital forensics and other high-technology solutions. These entrepreneurs understand the immense challenge of providing law enforcement the tools to help make the Internet a safer place. They have accepted this challenge and made it a key component of their businesses. However, some of these solutions are not yet known by the troops in the trenches of the child exploitation war we are supposedly losing. To me, it seems like there is a willing and prepared battalion that is not fully equipped for battle. During the last two years, the NLC has been privileged to meet more than 1,000 law enforcement professionals in our training series. These professionals and their colleagues across the nation are not the reason why we may be losing the war. However, I see multiple opportunities to make a real impact on the battlefield by uniting this battalion of private sector leaders and the committed law enforcement professionals who seek the high-tech weapons the private sector can provide. I am proud to say that the NLC is working to make that happen.
In conjunction with the NLC Protects National Seminar, the NLC will hold the Child Defenders Technology Expo in an adjoining conference hall. At this privately funded expo, we will display and demonstrate some of the best technological solutions available. We want to bridge the gap between the soldiers on the ground and the technology arsenal, and lead both of these forces into battle together. Just as a soldier trains with his weaponry before entering battle, we want both sectors to challenge each other to provide the best solutions, and I suspect the visionaries in the private sector, together with the heroic officers and prosecutors, will exceed this challenge.
The most inspiring conflicts in this nation's history are marked with trials and eventual triumph. In World War II, we just did not simply enter the fray and achieve immediate victory. Like the Axis powers during that time, the child predator is a crafty enemy, but one that can and must be defeated. We at the NLC are proud to be of effective service in this effort. Let us all - the law enforcement professionals, attorneys, the non-profit sector and the business community - join forces and win a decisive victory in this battle to protect America's children.
- Richard R. Whidden, Jr. (This article apprears in the 2008 Summer edition of the NLC Enforcer Newsletter) |
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