In the fight against sexual violence against children, the European police authority Europol is once again relying on swarm intelligence, i.e. on the knowledge of Internet users worldwide.
“Trace an object” is the name of the investigators’ campaign, which has been running since 2017 and is continually being relaunched.
The principle is as simple as it is successful: In their work, the police officers have to wade through countless images and videos – with terrible content. They show sexual violence against children, even in its worst forms. One problem: Often only the victims of the crimes can be seen. In order to protect them and other children and to convict the mostly male perpetrators, Europol needs more information about the recordings. When was a video recorded? Where was a photo taken?
This is where internet users come into play – potentially billions of people. The officers hope that someone will recognize some detail from the partly low-resolution images: In which store was a particular T-shirt sold? Which country does a product come from? Who has ever seen an object somewhere? “The most inconspicuous clues can sometimes help crack a case,” said the police department. When working on the puzzle, it is often helpful to be able to narrow down the country in which an act occurred.
Europol against sexual violence against children
Europol recently received additional images (click through the photo gallery above) published and hopes for tips from the public that will provide a new approach to investigations. In the cases in question, numerous leads have already been pursued – without success. “The more people see the images, the more we can ultimately contribute to protecting children,” says the international authority based in The Hague.
Tens of thousands of tips had already been received through previous “Trace an Object” campaigns, including Europol reporting on 26 children who had been brought to safety; there were several arrests. And the successful model has now found an imitator: the Australian police have launched a comparable program for the Asia-Pacific region.
But despite all the successes, the images published so far only represent a fraction of Europol’s evidence. The sheer unbelievable amount of more than 40 million additional images that were taken in connection with acts of sexual violence against children are still stored there.
If you can provide information about the images, contact a police station in Germany or contact Europol directly via the contact form. From there, the information is forwarded to the responsible authorities.
The star also reported on the past “Trace an object” campaigns. Check out the pictures here: June 2017, March 2019, July 2019, March 2020, March 2021, December 2023.