Government Agencies to Share Information in Child Predator Probes
Four federal agencies will share criminal intelligence information on child predators in an effort to reduce overlapping investigations.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced the information sharing agreement in a speech yesterday during a national conference in Columbus, Ohio, the Columbus Dispatch reports. The agreement covers the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Marshals Service.
“Our goal is to weave more tightly the web of enforcement to detect and respond to these crimes,” Mukasey said. He did not elaborate on the agreement, but a spokeswoman said the effort will reduce overlapping investigations.
No information was provided on the circumstances in which materials seized by customs agents can be shared with the other agencies. Documents and electronic devices seized by border control agents can be copied without any suspicion of wrongdoing, the Washington Post reported in a story published yesterday. But the story said the material can’t be shared with other government agencies unless there is a suspicion of a legal violation.
