Canadian Police Chief Magazine/La Revue des chefs de police du Canada - Winter/Hiver 2008 - (Page 12)

The National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre was created in response to the growing and disturbing crime of Internetfacilitated child sexual exploitation. continued from page 11 mandate is to reduce the vulnerability of children to Internet-facilitated sexual exploitation by identifying victimized children; investigating and assisting in the prosecution of sexual offenders; and, strengthening the capacity of municipal, territorial, provincial, federal, and international police agencies through training, research, and investigative support. Recent cases involving Canadians suspected of travelling to other countries and sexually abusing children indicate an emerging threat and illustrate the importance of global co-operation between police agencies. in Thailand and Cambodia. Analysts and technical experts worldwide (including Canadian) unscrambled the offender’s digital alterations to reveal the face of the perpetrator. After various searches of police databases and communication with international police organizations, Interpol members took the unprecedented step of releasing the suspect’s image to the public. Within days of this release, Interpol identiﬁed the suspect as Christopher Paul Neil, a Canadian citizen. Interpol issued a worldwide bulletin and Neil was taken into police custody in Thailand on October 19, 2007. public safety and, more importantly, to the children to whom s/he has access often renders releasing suspect images justiﬁable and reasonable. EXTRA-TERRITORIAL PROSECUTIONS: IMPACTS ON THE CANADIAN POLICE COMMUNITY The Neil case draws attention to Canada’s extra-territorial legislation. Generally, countries prosecute individuals who engage in an activity that contravenes their own legislation. Therefore, Canadians or Canadian residents who commit crimes in foreign countries will typically be dealt with by the criminal justice system of the country in which they committed the crimes. However, when Canadians or Canadian residents have committed certain crimes (e.g., crimes against children, crimes against humanity, terrorism) in foreign countries, Canada’s extra-territorial legislation may allow for the offender to be prosecuted in Canada. Extra-territorial legislation can be enacted to deal with situations where a foreign country does not have existing legislation to address activity that would be considered a serious offence in Canada (e.g., sexual abuse/exploitation of a child), in situations where countries cannot or will not prosecute an offender, or when an offender has returned to Canada. To date, prosecutions are handled by the last jurisdiction in Canada where the offender resided. Therefore, any Canadian police service may become involved in these cases. As well, family members, friends, potential witnesses, or other victims could be located in various police jurisdictions. To prosecute a suspect in Canada, the country that has custody of the offender must ﬁrst consent to extradition. A provincial Attorney General must approve prosecution of the suspect and must consult with the Department of Justice’s International Assistance Group. Canadian police may be requested to participate in various aspects of an investigation. It is quite possible that a suspect may have committed crimes in Canada that have gone previously undetected. Therefore, it is imperative that any investigation into his/her illegal activities is thoroughly completed. There can be a wide range of challeng- CASE STUDY: CHRISTOPHER PAUL NEIL In 2004, German investigators found over 200 images in an Internet Newsgroup depicting a man sexually abusing a number of young boys. The offender had digitally altered the images in an effort to mask his identity. Using various image analysis techniques, investigators were able to determine that the images were produced PUBLIC ASSISTANCE IN TRAVELLING CHILD SEX OFFENDER INVESTIGATIONS The Neil case demonstrates some of the beneﬁts of the release of information to the public related to the identiﬁcation of suspected child sexual offenders. At a November meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, delegates from Interpol voted in favour of expanding the use of public appeals, including releasing images of suspected offenders, as a potentially useful strategy to identify and locate suspects depicted in child sexual abuse images (child pornography). This type of release is intended for cases in which all other efforts to identify an offender have been exhausted and police have determined that the offender has not already been identiﬁed and/or apprehended. In Canada, the medium through which such releases would occur is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Wanted Persons website. Decisions to post on this site will be made on a case by case basis with signiﬁcant strategic guidance by the NCECC. Although posting images of ‘most wanted’ suspects is not new to policing, it is not yet common in cases involving Internet-facilitated child sexual exploitation. Steps will be taken to ensure that the privacy rights of individuals have been carefully considered. However, the potential threat posed by an offender to VGT Success Canadian law enforcement forwarded intelligence to the Child Exploitation Online Protection Agency in 2006. An undercover project was initiated drawing on the expertise of the VGT (Virtual Global Taskforce) countries. More than 700 suspects from 35 different countries have been identiﬁed and most importantly, 31 children have been rescued and/or removed from harm. “This case is a clear example of the impact and co-operation of international law enforcement and our mutual commitment to the investigation of online sexual exploitation of children.” – Supt. E.K. McColl, Ofﬁcer in Charge of the NCECC, as cited in the Virtual Global Taskforce Newsletter, July 2007 12 WINTER/HIVER 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Canadian Police Chief Magazine/La Revue des chefs de police du Canada - Winter/Hiver 2008

Canadian Police Chief Magazine/La Revue des chefs de police du Canada - Winter/Hiver 2008 Contents Message from the President Message du président Travelling Child Sexual Offenders – Is the Canadian Policing Community Prepared? Touristes pédophiles – Les policiers canadiens sont-ils prêts? By/par Michael Serapiglia The Challenge of Street Gangs in Canada: Imagining a Comprehensive Response Imaginer une réponse complète au problème des gangs de rue CACP Private Sector Liaison Committee: Working to Share Information and Best Practices Comité de liaison avec le secteur privé de l’ACCP : À l’oeuvre pour échanger les informations et les pratiques exemplaires CACP Professional Standards Subcommittee: Contributing to the Professionalism of Policing Le Sous-comité des normes professionnelles de l’ACCP : pour plus de professionnalisme dans les forces policières Canadian Police Earn International Recognition for Innovation La police canadienne, reconnue internationalement pour ses innovations Nomination Deadlines for 2008 CACP Awards Dates limites des mises en candidature aux prix 2008 de l’ACCP Buyers’ Guide Guide de l’acheteur Calendar of Events Calendrier des événements Index to Advertisers Index des annonceurs

Canadian Police Chief Magazine/La Revue des chefs de police du Canada - Winter/Hiver 2008

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