• International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) Will Partner with Kerala’s Cyberdome to Combat Online Child Sexual Exploitation
Thiruvanathapuram, India, Sept. 26, 2019 : Kerala Police unveiled today the successes of the first dedicated Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Cyber Security Unit in India. The CSE team operates under Kerala Police Cyberdome in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The announcement came during C0C0N, the longest running Cyber Security convention in the region, and spotlighted their partnership with the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children.
Since launching the CSE Unit in March of 2019, Kerala Police have made numerous arrests and currently have more than 70 officers from all around Kerala State dedicated to CSE Investigations. Kerala built their first team and received Investigative training from the International Centre at the end of 2018. In June of 2019, the International Centre along with Detective Inspector Jon Rouse, of the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, returned to Kerala and built capacity through additional training and leave-behind technology tools specifically used to investigate Child Sexual Exploitation Online. The Unit has since doubled in size and launched two state-wide sting operations resulting in at least 26 arrests.
Under the leadership of Inspector General Abraham, Cyberdome is a technological research and development centre for thought leadership and innovation around cyber space and combatting emerging cyber threats today. “We are the first state in India to create a unit dedicated to protecting children online and sending our ‘zero tolerance’ message to perpetrators that think this is a low-risk crime,” said Manoj Abraham IPS, Inspector General of Police in Kerala, India. “We hope to continue working with the International Centre and Det. Rouse to build capacity through technology, tools, and additional training.”
Paul Shapiro, President and CEO of the International Centre, is proud to partner with Kerala and of their achievements thus far. “The CSE cybercrime team in Kerala serves as a model unit for Law Enforcement in every state of India,” he said. “We look forward to continuing our work here and helping fight to protect children all over the country.”
The International Centre and Jon Rouse will conduct another Law Enforcement training this week. Later this year, the International Centre will work with India at the federal level to help with the installation of the National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children’s Cyber Tip Line. The tip line receives reports of child sexual exploitation from around the world and disseminates them to each country. Ultimately, Kerala will receive these tips, which will help with additional successful investigations.
