[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 31 (Monday, March 20, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S1454]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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     THE VERMONT INTERNET CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN TASK FORCE OFFICE

 Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I congratulate the dedicated 
Vermonters responsible for the grand opening of the Vermont Internet 
Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force's new office in downtown 
Burlington. This new office should build on the success of the Vermont 
ICAC Task Force to coordinate between local, State and Federal law 
enforcement agencies from around the region in their efforts to combat 
the emerging problem of computer crime.
  Unfortunately, far too many State and local law enforcement agencies 
cannot afford the cost of policing against computer crimes themselves. 
In Vermont, there are few law enforcement officers among the more than 
900 serving in our state who have training in investigating computer 
crimes and analyzing the evidence. Without the necessary educational 
training, technical support, and coordinated information, our law 
enforcement officials will be hamstrung in their efforts to crack down 
on computer crimes against children.
  But the Vermont ICAC Task Force is helping our law enforcement 
officers meet this new challenge in the information age. Through the 
collaborative training and public education programs of the ICAC Task 
Force, Vermont law enforcement officials are able to use the resources 
of the Department of Justice and the Vermont community to fight cyber-
criminals.
  I have introduced Federal legislation, the Computer Crime Enforcement 
Act, S. 1314, to provide the Vermont ICAC Task Force and other Vermont 
law enforcement agencies with additional resources. My legislation 
would authorize a $25 million Department of Justice grant program to 
help states prevent and prosecute computer crime. Grants under my bill 
may be used to provide education, training, and enforcement programs 
for state and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors in the 
rapidly growing field of computer criminal justice.
  It is hard for our law enforcement community to keep up with 
criminals in the computer age. Lawbreakers have integrated highly 
technical methods with traditional crimes and developed creative new 
types of crime. They use computers to cross State and national 
boundaries electronically, creating jurisdictional problems. They also 
use sophisticated equipment that makes them difficult to trace.
  But we Vermonters can prevent, capture and prosecute cyber-criminals 
by following the model set by the Vermont ICAC Task Force. The Vermont 
ICAC Task Force has done, and will continue to do, great work to 
protect Vermont's children from Internet crimes in its new home.

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