Report Child Sexual Exploitation:
In 2021, the Iowa General Assembly created the Cyber Crime Bureau within the Division of Criminal Investigation. The Cyber Crime Bureau investigates crimes with a significant cyber, technological, or digital nexus. Nearly every major investigation - from homicide, to fraud, to child exploitation - involves large volumes of digital data. Digital forensic examiners in the Cyber Crime Bureau conduct examinations of this data that often take months to complete.
These examinations retrieve and analyze evidence from digital sources. Evidence is retrieved from a wide variety of devices, such as smart phones, computer hard drives, optical media, and more. The evidence recovered during forensic examinations helps lead to successful resolutions of these high-profile investigations.
Cyber crime is becoming a principal element of criminal activity nationally and in the State of Iowa. Law enforcement must maintain specialized tools to meet the growing need for cyber investigation and analysis. Although these investigations present challenges as technology advances, law enforcement must stay one step ahead. The Cyber Crime Bureau ensures Iowa law enforcement remains effective at thwarting digital threats to our national security, our children’s safety, our financial integrity, and more.
Meet Our Cyber Crime K9s:
Our Cyber Crime K9s are trained to detect and find cell phones, hard drives, computers, flash drives, SD cards, cameras, and any other type of electronic storage device. They are trained to recognize a common chemical, triphenylphosphine (TPPO), used in all electronic storage devices. The dogs are also used with victims, interviews, critical incident teams, stress management, and public awareness social media campaigns.
