Investigators have been kept busy over the last year at the Kewaunee County Sheriff’s Department, but the uptick in Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) is concerning to Sheriff Matt Joski. The Wisconsin State Journal reported in November that the state’s Department of Justice’s ICAC Task Force has seen a 13 percent increase in the number of tips they have received through its Cyber TipLine in 2020. Joski says an alarming trend they have seen is children “sexting” each other. Both kids may not see it as a crime, but in essence, they are creating and distributing child pornography. It is something Joski says could stick with them for the rest of their life because of the digital age we live in.
Joski says it is just one example of the complex nature some investigators have to consider when taking on a case. You can read more about the department’s investigators below.
FROM SHERIFF JOSKI
While some of the duties here at the Sheriff’s Department are in the public’s view and receive a great deal of attention, there is a division of the Sheriff’s Department that works tirelessly each and every day behind the scenes. As I reported in an earlier article regarding the response of our patrol Deputies to calls of a criminal nature; many of these calls are dealt with by those Patrol Deputies when the evidence for an arrest is clearly present. Not all crimes that are committed provide clear evidence of responsibility or even a clear picture of what actually occurred.
When a given call presents the need for evidence gathering, and in depth follow up, we rely on the members of the Investigation Division to apply their expertise in the pursuit of a successful outcome. This division is comprised of three Deputies, each of them skilled in various facets of investigative work. While they may receive preliminary information from the initial responding Deputy, their work requires them to look at each and every case with a fresh perspective and recreate the events of the incident through extensive interviews, forensic investigation and follow through on each and every piece of information available.
A great deal of resources is expended in our constant vigilance against drug activity within our community as well as assisting adjacent counties and municipalities in their efforts. We continue to see the emergence of heroin along with methamphetamines in our communities along with the alarming abuse of prescription drugs which have impacted too many families and friends. The knowledge and intelligence gathering which is done on a daily basis by our Investigators has proven successful in many convictions pertaining to all criminal activity throughout this past year.
Some of the common calls which we may request their assistance are burglaries, sexual assaults, and criminal damage to property. Some unique calls which this division has handled in this past year include the crime of sexting and related ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children). As with many crimes based in technology, there may be a limited awareness on the part of those perpetrating the crime, as well as those who are potential victims of the crime. sexting is when sexually explicit photos are taken by an individual and then shared electronically. A truly alarming trend which we have been seeing is the sexting which is going on among children in our community. While the young person taking the photo may not see it as a crime, or the young person who receives or shares the photo on their electronic device may not see it as a crime, it is in fact a serious offense. The real danger is the lasting damage that such activity causes in that these photos never go away and will last for perpetuity. The plain fact is that anyone taking such photos is in essence creating child pornography, and anyone with such an image on their electronic device is in possession of child pornography. Furthermore, anyone who shares these images is actually distributing child pornography. All of this demonstrates the complexity of the work which these Investigators must do and the sensitivity and professionalism which they must exercise in the investigations of such crimes.
Of the many ways we use in calibrating our success, one tool is the Incident Based Reporting system to which all Law enforcement agencies submit their data. A key area we look at is our ability to solve or clear cases. Historically, the Kewaunee County Sheriff’s Department has maintained clearance rates higher than that of our state average. This again is due to the diligent and hard work of our entire staff as well as the many leads we receive from our community.
Thank you to our Investigators for the thorough and methodical manner in which you do you jobs each and every day!
