|  Home  |  About Us  |   Our Goals  |  Offendor Registry  |  Parents   |  Teachers  |  Kids   |  Teens  |

Law Enforcement Page

This page has all the information listed under the "Law Enforcement" title on the Site Link bar to the left.  You will find a wealth of information on each topic.  The right side of the page is filled with links by topic for additional study. Links to Handouts given in my In-Service Training classes are available at the left. Check back often as we add more stuff.

Cop's  Links

Informational Links

The FBI's child page

Police Guide.Com

Missingkids.com - Best Resource list available.  Many books for police & citizens available for free!

CommunityPolicing.org

D.A.R.E.

Gang Resistance Education & Training

National  Sheriff's Association

Handouts

Tennessee Laws- Handout

Sheriff's In-Service Presentation

Seminar Handouts-Parents

Child Molester Profiles

There are two basic types of child sexual abusers.  Those that have a true preference for children and those that do not.   Those that do not have a true preference for children are known as Situational Child Molesters. Those that do are called Preferential Child Molesters.  Lets take a look at their profiles.

Situational Child Molester

The molesters that fit this profile do not have true preference for children but engage in sex with them for varied reasons. There are several profiles for this type.

Regressed Molester-Only victim criteria is availability. Low self-esteem typical of the friend or family member

Morally Indiscriminate Molester- fastest growing kind. Child abuse is just another part of general pattern of abuse in their lives. Domestic violence perpetrator.

Sexually indiscriminate Molester- tri-sexual. One who experiments with all sexual behaviors. Most likely to have multiple victims. Abuse child of girlfriend, babysitter, child of friend.

Inadequate Molester- Eccentric personality-social misfit. Abuses other children that are developmentally disabled.

Preferential Child Molester

Has a definite sexual preference for children usually very specific.

Seduction Molester-Acquires victims by seduction-gifts, affection. Targets lonely or misunderstood children. Coaches, camp counselors, teachers

Introverted Molester- prefers children but has no skills for seduction. Stereotypical child molester-hangs around playgrounds or marries women with children.

Sadistic Molester- prefers children but is gratified only by inflicting pain or death on victim. Child killers, abductor-killers. -Kill child within 3 hours.

(Click here to go to the top of the page)

Informational Links

Below you will find information and publications that will help you investigate these crimes.

Publications on Molesters for Police

Publications on Abduction for Police

Publications for First Responders

FBI's page on Investigation of child crimes

TIPS: For The  Cops

What you can do that Helps!

1. Get to know students in non-confrontational settings.

2. Develop a formal memorandum of understanding with the school about handling complaints, criminal events, and other calls for service.

3. Offer to train teachers, staff, and students in personal safety.

4. Help students learn about the costs of violence to their community:financial, social, and physical.

5. Provide accurate information about your state's juvenile and criminal justice systems.

6. If you are qualified offer to help school staff perform a security survey of the school building, identifying lighting needs, requirements for locks and other security devices.

7. Work to include school administrators, staff, and students in existing prevention action against gang weapons, and other threats

8. Work with school attendance officers to identify truants and return them to school or to an alternate facility.

9. Develop links with parents through parent-teacher associations and other groups.

10. Work with community groups to put positive after-school activities in place.

11. Together with principals and parents, start safe corridor programs and block parent programs to make the trip to and from school less worrisome for students.

Child Victim Profiles

A great study has been made over the past 20 years into all aspects of profiling children at greater risk for sexual abuse.  The FBI has pioneered this research and has come up with some very interesting findings.

First and foremost, it was found that sexual abuse transcended any socio-economic pattern.  There was no relationship between victims and race, income, or social status.

Several criteria was found that was consistant with high risk of sexual abuse.

Children at high risk were consistantly exposed to one or more of the following:

1. Children living without one of the biological parents.

2. Mother absent from the home due to work, illness, incarceration or disability.

3. Parents marriage is unhappy or conflictual in child's view.

4. Parental relationship is poor or child is subjected to extremely punitive discipline or abuse.

5. Child has a stepfather.

Typical symptoms of children exposed to sexual abuse vary but include the following:

1. Stomachaches, headaches, changes in appetite.

2. Difficulty sleeping, nightmares, flashbacks, moodswings, phobias and depression.

3. Avoidance of school, declining grades, increased peer fighting, and fear of adults.

4. abusive language, sexualized language, suicide attempts, sexual activity with same sex children or animals and younger children.

5. Lying, stealing and sexually aggresive behavior.

(Click here to go to the top of the page)

Informational Links

Below you will find information  at cites related to child victims.

State Clearninghouses contact information

FBI's page on Kidnapping

FBI's page on Child Pornagraphy

Crimes Against Children

Methods of Investigation

Although covering all aspects of investigation of child sexual abuse is beyond the space on this site, I will cover the basics for everyday law enforcement officers.  My coverage is intended to give you as a police officer or deputy, a glance at what happens once you make the scene and get the professional investigators involved.  If you are not specifically trained to interview and investigate a child sexual abuse case, you should be careful to preserve the scene and notify your command staff immediately so that the Child Protection Unit in your county can begin investigation.

There are seven basic steps in the crime scene search of a Child Sexual Abuse Case.

Prepare
Be prepared to deal with the situation. Get another officer on the scene and get your commander there as well.  This is not going to be like all the other scenes you make.

Protect
Law Enforcement must protect the child and the scene. Determine the boundries of the scene and tape them off. Separate the victim from the molester.

Precise
Be precise in following all established procedures. They count more than ever with evidence in a child sexual abuse case. All evidence is valuable and it is never known how any particular piece of evidence will later used in trial.

Packaging
The packaging of evidence is absolutely essential to prosecuting the case.

Preserve
You must preserve the evidence. This involves identifying, bagging and tagging all of it.   If the chain of custody is broken or contaminated, the evidence will most likely not be admissible.

(Click here to go to the top of the page)

Informational Links

The FBI's child page

FBI's Exploited Child Unit

TIPS: Basic Checklist

Below is a basic checklist for law enforcement officers who make the scene of a Child Sexual Abuse complaint.

First Responders

1. Get a backup officer on the scene with you.

2. Notify your supervisor of the nature of the call.

3. Identify custodian of child.

4. Obtain all  information on the child.

Investigators

1. Get a brief from the First Responder.

2. Obtain written permission and search the child's room.

3. Treat entire area as a crime scene. Seal and protect the child's room and possessions.

4. Interview entire family, friends and associations.

5. Secure child's medical and dental records.

6. Get history of family dynamics.

7. Develop an investigative plan and execute it.

Supervisor

1. Contact Appropriate Child investigation team, attorney general, child or human services, etc.

2. ensure compliance with departmental procedures.

3. Be available to make decisions or determinations as they develop!
   

Please feel free to contact us if you would like to host a workshop or seminar:

Childviolence.com
P.O. Box 4437
Cordova, TN 38088-4437

EMAIL
john@childviolence.com

God Bless America