Protecting children with UCOL investigations – insights from the ground

Content warning | This blog post discusses child sexual abuse and exploitation, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Protecting children against on- and offline abuse, including the creation and dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), requires a range of intelligence-gathering tactics. In some cases, these must be deployed covertly via undercover online (UCOL) investigations. 

To learn more about the vital role of UCOL tactics, we spoke to our Engagement Manager Rob Chitham. Across his 30+ years of law enforcement expertise, Rob developed first-hand experience of using covert online deployments to identify perpetrators and combat child sexual abuse and exploitation. 

Keep reading for his insights into the importance of UCOL investigations across the clear and dark web, and how collaboration between law enforcement and technology companies can increase investigative effectiveness.  

To begin, how do undercover online investigations help to combat crimes against children – and how important are they? 

They are hugely important. Undercover online tactics allow investigators to identify high-risk sexual offenders proactively, hopefully before they cause any harm to children.  

They are also particularly useful in cases where perpetrators have offended, but are not yet known to the authorities. For instance, in cases of ongoing child sexual abuse where the victims haven’t reported the perpetrator to the police. 

 In one of the most notable cases that I worked on as part of the National Crime Agency (NCA), we identified a perpetrator who had abused 10 children. The individual was very trusted within their community, and may have continued to target children without legal consequences if we hadn’t identified them when we did.   

UCOL tactics also enable investigators to combat the distribution of child sexual abuse material. They are particularly valuable in cases where there are no financial transactions to follow, and perpetrators share illicit material – sometimes first-generation material – freely within forums and other online communities. 

By entering these online environments, undercover investigators can identify these perpetrators, assess the risk they represent, and take the most appropriate next steps.  

How can UCOL tactics help to protect children on the dark web? 

On the dark web, perpetrators operate with a sense of anonymity across forums and websites. This means that they often share information about crimes they have committed or the crimes they intend to commit.  

Sometimes, perpetrators engage in conversation that they will subsequently claim is just ‘fantasy’. This is often known as ‘fantasy chat’, but I believe this term diminishes the risk and importance of this conversation.  

Perpetrators engaging in this can still pose a very serious threat to children, and it’s the role of the undercover investigator to assess this risk. 

You might also find interesting: Protecting children with undercover operations: the challenges

How can undercover operations also help to identify perpetrators on the clear web? 

In my experience, some of the highest risk sex offenders operate across the clear web. These are the offenders who actively engage with child victims on clear-web channels, such as social media networks and online gaming platforms. 

This is often with the intention to commit contact abuse. For instance, grooming children to meet in person, or using coercive techniques to elicit child sexual abuse material.  

It’s therefore crucial to deploy undercover investigations across both the dark and the clear web to be truly effective. 

When it comes to undercover operations, how important is collaboration between forces and jurisdictions? 

Collaboration between law enforcement agencies can be extremely important to the success of undercover operations. There are, of course, instances where just one team will be able to gather the evidence needed to arrest a perpetrator. However, some cases require more resources than others. Or, they require intelligence and resources within a particular location.  

Once, when I was working with a UK police force, the FBI brought us in on an undercover investigation where they’d identified a perpetrator in the UK. We were able to join the investigation as their UK counterpart and ultimately arrest the individual. In cases like these, collaboration between forces is critical on a practical and physical level. 

It’s also important in terms of sharing intelligence between investigators. Even in cases that don’t result in an arrest, sharing tactics can help law enforcement agencies to develop best practices for future investigations. 

What about collaboration between investigators and technology companies? 

Collaboration between investigators and technology companies can lead to some brilliant developments.  

For instance, we at CameraForensics are proud to have developed a solution that gives viable indicators of the risk that people online represent to children. We’ve developed this in collaboration with UCOL investigators, so that it’s embedded with their intelligence and real-world insights.  

I can't say much about it, but it’s a very exciting development – one that I hope will support investigators to protect even more children worldwide. 

Empowering investigators with novel technology 

At CameraForensics, we’re committed to supporting investigators with the technological capabilities needed to identify perpetrators and protect children, effectively.   

To learn more about our research and development expertise, or to discuss your investigative needs with our team, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.