Blog, In the News

INDIANA – The Internet can be a dangerous place for kids, and that’s why the Indiana State Police launched an education program to help reduce online victimization of our youth.

The Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) announced a statewide youth education initiative Monday that hopes to bring awareness and reduce the cyber victimization of kids between the ages of 8 and 18.

At this point, there are 61 ICAC task forces in the United States, and Indiana’s ICAC Task Force is the first to have full-time youth educators.

Three ICAC youth educators will be available to present the program in each of Indiana’s 92 counties. They’re planning to provide at least 300 training programs by the end of 2016.

Each Youth Educator will work within the structure of the Indiana ICAC Task Force with presentations specifically designed to prevent victimization in the areas of:

• Online child sexual solicitation
• Online child extortion, also known as sextortion
• Online production of child pornography
• Online bullying, also known as cyberbullying
• Online radicalization mitigation to reduce the recruitment of youth by terrorists and criminal extremists.

The program coordinators will work with you to present a timely, up-to date program that is age appropriate for your group. Programs can be customized to accommodate both large and small groups, and can last from less than an hour to a full day.

If you’d like to learn more about this program or to schedule a presentation, send an email request to ICACYouthEd@isp.in.gov.