Protecting The Children
Police officers now have access to a new online tool called LEDX, or Law Enforcement Data Exchange, for finding and capturing child predators.
LEDX is an online portal developed by the Department of Justice currently being used by some 40 law enforcement task forces across the country.
Officers in the task forces have access to information regarding child pornography and criminals through reporting, calendars, bulletin boards, incident tracking, and other features.
An important part of the system is the Internet Crimes Against Children database, which includes incident reports, a legal library, Justice Department reports, bulletin boards, and other data submitted by the task forces.
Moreover, police offices can analyze data in collaboration with other agencies to identify suspected perpetrators and reduce the risk of duplicate searches.
LEDX receives about 10 to 12 requests for passwords daily, and the system is potentially able to handle thousands of domestic and international users, says Larry Hunt, CEO and chief engineer at Integrated Digital Systems/ScanAmerica (IDS), which worked with DoJ to set up the system.
The online system also features a training section and an area for states to maintain their own information and reports.
Captain Rick Wiita with the Bedford County, Va., Sheriff’s office, for example, used LEDX to access other states’ crime legislation to use as a guideline as Virginia develops similar laws.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the GovernmentVAR (05/03) Vol. 19, No. 10, P. 17; Haber, Lynn.
