GOP AG candidate calls for cyber-crime unit in state

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Republican attorney general nominee Michael Gibbons said Monday he would create a cyber-crimes task force in the office to fight online sexual predators, identity thieves and other Internet-based scammers.

Members of the task force would help investigations by local law enforcement and county prosecutors, offer specialized training and coordinate statewide efforts to combat cyber-crimes.

The task force would also set up a voluntary alert network to warn Missourians about Internet threats. Residents who signed up would be notified through e-mail and text messages of recent online schemes and other threats.

Gibbons, a two-term state senator from Kirkwood, outlined the plan in a series of stops around the state Monday. In Columbia, he said dealing with Internet-based threats requires a new approach to investigation and law enforcement.

Gibbons is running in the Nov. 4 election against Democrat Chris Koster of Raymore, a state senator who served as Cass County prosecutor from 1995 to 2005. Koster has touted his prosecutorial credentials and focused heavily on the law enforcement duties of the attorney general.

Koster campaign spokesman Danny Kanner said a cyber-crime task force is a great idea but has already been implemented in the attorney general's office.

"[Koster] will turn up the heat within the existing cyber-crimes unit to take on all of these challenges that he's incredibly familiar with," Kanner said.

The attorney general's office in 2000 created the High Technology and Computer Crime Unit within the office's division of public safety. The unit has investigated gambling, sale of alcohol to minors and harassment over the Internet and given technical and legal help to local prosecutors.

In 2007, the unit conducted 53 investigations and helped train more than 5,000 people.

The attorney general defends state laws and policies when they're challenged, helps county prosecutors when requested, pursues consumer fraud cases and can investigate potential Sunshine Law violations.

Gibbons said his cyber-crimes task force would have an attorney, several investigators and a computer forensic expert. He said he would look to existing staff in the attorney general's office to fill those spots and would ask the legislature for the funds to hire new people if needed.