NH- UNH Crimes Against Children Research Center Receives More Than $1.8M in Grants

9-8-2009 New Hampshire:

DURHAM, N.H. – The Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire has been awarded more than $1.8 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Justice to combat Internet and other crimes against children.

“We are very pleased and honored to receive these awards. They reflect the leadership role that the Crimes against Children Research Center has played over the last 10 years in conducting research on children’s exposure to violence and crime. It is an issue that should remain a Justice Department priority over the coming years, and we look forward to helping out in trying to reduce the scope and effects of this serious problem,” said David Finkelhor, director of the UNH Crimes against Children Research Center.

UNH has received three grants totaling $1.86 million. Two grants are made possible by the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The grants, which were announced by NH Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, are as follows:

• $825,704 from the Recovery Act Internet Crimes Against Children Research Grants. This study is designed to help law enforcement combat technology-facilitated child exploitation crimes. It will gather detailed national data on a number of topics including new developments and trends in cases coming to law enforcement attention; what investigative strategies are associated with more favorable outcomes; what challenges and dilemmas confront prosecutors; what indicators and investigative procedures are more likely to identify child pornography offenders who have also committed crimes against or endangered children in their environments; and how investigators are managing and responding to cases of sexual images produced and disseminated by youth.

• $734,900 from the Recovery Act Internet Crimes Against Children Research Grants. This project aims to help reduce youth risk of victimization through technology use (i.e., Internet, text messaging, webcams). It will investigate existing trends in the number and types of threats youth encounter using technology; assess risks to youth of new behaviors and activities, including youth creating and distributing explicit images of themselves and/or peers; assess benefits and utilization of safety programs and technologies; and identify activities and behaviors most closely associated with risk. This study builds on a highly successful, decade-long research initiative at the UNH Crimes against Children Research Center.

• $299,960 from the Child Protection Division Grants. This award is for completion of a follow-up study to the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence, a national study to document the incidence and prevalence of children’s exposure to a broad array of violence, crime, and abuse experiences.

Created in 1998, the UNH Crimes against Children Research Center (CCRC) works to combat crimes against children by providing high-quality research and statistics to the public, policy makers, law enforcement personnel, and other child welfare practitioners. CCRC is concerned with research about the nature of crimes including child abduction, homicide, rape, assault, and physical and sexual abuse as well as their impact. Associated with the CCRC is an internationally recognized group of experts who have published numerous books and articles concerning the incidence and impact of violence against children. Visit the center online at http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/index.html.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 11,800 undergraduate and 2,400 graduate students. ..Source.. by Lori Wright