National Child Victim Identification Program
Encyclopedia
The National Child Victim Identification Program (NCVIP) is the world's largest database of child pornography
, maintained by the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section
of the United States Department of Justice
and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
(NCMEC) for the purpose of identifying victims of child abuse.
Development of the database began in 1999, and it was launched in 2003. It contains images contributed by the FBI
, Secret Service
, Postal Inspection Service
, and several other organizations. In March 2005, the Justice Department's database with merged with that of the NCMEC. The database uses image analysis
software developed by LTU Technologies
to detect victims.
As a security measure, police are not allowed to manually browse the database, and they cannot identify victims by name. Instead, they are given contact information for higher-level officers who have security clearance. When child pornography is seized, specialist FBI investigators analyse the entire collection before running the images through the database, as the way the computer files are organised can help in identifying victims. Following a seizure of more than 10,000 images in California in 2007, two officers from the Washington Field Office of the FBI reviewed every image.
The program was created by Andrew Oosterban, head of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department.
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
, maintained by the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section
Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section
The Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section is a section of the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice in charge of protecting the welfare of America's children and communities by enforcing federal criminal statutes relating to the exploitation of children and obscenity...
of the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is a private, non-profit organization established in 1984 by the United States Congress.-Establishment and overview:...
(NCMEC) for the purpose of identifying victims of child abuse.
Development of the database began in 1999, and it was launched in 2003. It contains images contributed by the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
, Postal Inspection Service
United States Postal Inspection Service
The United States Postal Inspection Service is the law enforcement arm of the United States Postal Service. Its jurisdiction is defined as "crimes that may adversely affect or fraudulently use the U.S...
, and several other organizations. In March 2005, the Justice Department's database with merged with that of the NCMEC. The database uses image analysis
Image analysis
Image analysis is the extraction of meaningful information from images; mainly from digital images by means of digital image processing techniques...
software developed by LTU Technologies
LTU Technologies
LTU TechnologiesFounded in 1999, LTU technologies is a global pioneer in the field of image recognition for commercial and government solutions...
to detect victims.
As a security measure, police are not allowed to manually browse the database, and they cannot identify victims by name. Instead, they are given contact information for higher-level officers who have security clearance. When child pornography is seized, specialist FBI investigators analyse the entire collection before running the images through the database, as the way the computer files are organised can help in identifying victims. Following a seizure of more than 10,000 images in California in 2007, two officers from the Washington Field Office of the FBI reviewed every image.
The program was created by Andrew Oosterban, head of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department.