Local Agencies Hold Grand Opening for New Regional Task Force Crime Lab | Local News

RANDOLPH COUNTY — A multi-agency task force dedicated to investigating crimes against children and human trafficking held a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this month to open its new laboratory and offices in Randolph County .The Invictus Project task force includes detectives from the Alamance, Davidson, Forsyth and Randolph county sheriff's offices, as well as the SBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Officials from these departments marked the opening of the new fusion center in Asheboro on May 17.The project is the first effort in North Carolina to collaborate with regional agencies to combat Internet crime against children, exploitation and human trafficking. Two other ICAC fusion centers exist in the United States, one in Tennessee and one in Florida, according to a release from the Randolph County Sheriff's Office.“Randolph County's geographic location...makes us a prime location to help agencies across the state train new ICAC detectives, collaborate on operations in other jurisdictions, and provide technical assistance to agencies that do not have the resources to proactively investigate these cases. and contribute to the shared body of knowledge in the fight against those who seek to exploit our children,” the statement said.By partnering with other sheriffs' offices, the SBI and Homeland Security, the task force will have a full-scale forensic lab staffed with a technician, analyst and administrative assistant to provide the administrative support and technological assistance needed to streamline investigations, allowing detectives to shift their posture and conduct proactive investigations focused on child trafficking and exploitation, the sheriff's office said.Another component of the project will be education and training of agents on topics such as cyber investigations, human trafficking, child exploitation, undercover chat operations and use of force.The SBI reports that there were approximately 27,000 online tips about crimes against children on the Internet in 2023, but there are only 250 investigators statewide assigned to this crime category, or one investigator for 108 information.