Feb. 25, 2008 -- In an effort to protect Kansas families and consumers, Attorney General Steve Six is urging the legislature to support his Expanded Cyber Crime Initiative that will provide additional resources to the fight on Internet crime in Kansas.
Six spoke at Jay Shidler Elementary School where he participated in a Netsmartz training class with students.
“With every new technology that comes along, our lives become more convenient. But along with the Internet, email, instant messaging and file sharing comes new threats,” Six said. “And that’s why it’s my priority to provide additional resources to law enforcement through our new Cyber Crime Unit.”
The Cyber Crime Unit already has one investigator and one prosecutor, but it needs more resources to better target criminals who use the Internet to commit crimes, Six explained.
“I ask the legislature to join me in this effort to protect our kids, our grandparents and Kansas consumers from crime online,” Six said. “Through the Expanded Cyber Crime Initiative, we will find better ways to fight these crimes, protect our kids and prevent cyber crime.”
Nationally, the most effective approach to decrease Internet-based crime has been two-pronged, through education and prosecution. The Kansas plan follows this successful model.
If fully funded by the legislature, three additional staff positions will be added to the unit: a crime analyst, an investigator and a prosecutor.
The initiative will also provide funding for a full-time trainer in the Attorney General’s Office, additional funding for anti-predator education through the Netsmartz program, and resources to produce and distribute educational DVDs across the state.
“Law makers must make cyber crime a priority this session and give law enforcement the resources they need to protect our families from online criminals,” Six said. “This is a necessary law enforcement program that should have bi-partisan support in the legislature.”