- Lüneburg police team up to fight child pornography
Better connected, equipped, and trained, a new department of the Lüneburg Police Directorate has dedicated itself to the fight against child pornography. A professional central laboratory for the field of IT forensics was inaugurated on Monday - all data from the districts of Celle, Harburg, Heidekreis, Lüchow-Dannenberg, Lüneburg, Rotenburg/Wümme, Stade, and Uelzen now converge.
The unique aspect: Investigators at different locations are also integrated and receive the processed data at the end. "We are expanding our network, I would say, this is not only unique in Lower Saxony but also nationwide," explained Chief Inspector Oliver Schäfer, head of the new department. Seven IT specialists from the private sector are examining the criminal traces, the eighth position is advertised.
Increasing case numbers
Ten years ago, the numbers were still quite manageable, said Police Vice-President Jens Eggersglüß: "Five years ago, the annual case numbers were still below 1000 at the state level, last year there were almost 7000." And they continued to rise. The reality is that the processing of data has become increasingly difficult. "The creation and distribution of sexual abuse of children must be consistently combated," emphasized Eggersglüß. The laboratory is a step towards greater efficiency.
Secured hardware such as PCs, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, and other storage media are examined and sometimes disassembled. Thus, protective mechanisms of the devices should be overcome, deleted files should be restored, or hidden contents should be found. The Lower Saxony Police developed an artificial intelligence for this purpose, which can quickly evaluate the data. A server with a high-speed connection should accelerate the processes.
CDU state parliamentary group leader Sebastian Lechner also called for sufficient powers to combat child pornography: "Finally, the retention of IP addresses must come, so that perpetrators do not remain unpunished. The ECJ has long paved the way for this." The state government must advocate for this at the federal level.
The new department, spearheading the fight against child pornography in Lower Saxony, includes districts such as Lüneburg. The inauguration of the central IT forensics lab in Lüneburg is significant, as it now centralizes data from various districts within Lower Saxony, including Lüneburg.
