The NCECC was established in 2003 as the law enforcement component of Canada’s National Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet. The centre was created in response to the recognition that the Internet was being more frequently used to facilitate sexual exploitation crimes against children including the exchange of child sexual abuse images and child luring.
The mandate of the NCECC 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
- Strengthening the capacity of municipal, territorial, provincial, federal and international police agencies through training and investigative support
The NCECC is Canada’s contact point for files involving Canadian victims and suspects. The Centre provides a number of services to law enforcement, including the ability to respond immediately to a child at risk, the coordination of investigative files, expertise in victim identification techniques, management of multi-jurisdictional cases, operationally relevant research, and training specific to online child sexual exploitation investigations.
NCECC also manages and provides training for the Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS), an intelligence tool that enhances information sharing among Canadian investigators.
Saanich Police and NCECC
Saanich Police is dedicated to safeguarding our children, and has supported NCECC with coordinated investigations and even with personnel. In August 2005, Cst. Arnold Guerin, one of our former Child Abuse Investigators, moved his family to Ottawa to take on a full-time role of combating child exploitation. Presently Cst. Guerin is the Technology Manager at the centre. He is the leading world expert on CETS and travels around the globe training police agencies.