Scott County receives $34K grant to combat cyber crimes

Scott County is now in a position to combat Internet crimes, thanks to a more than $34,000 grant the sheriff's department received through the Missouri Department of Public Safety and the Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Grant Program.

The money allowed the department to begin the first step of the grant program, using the initial $13,881 to send Lt. Jerry Bledsoe to Guidance Software in Los Angeles, in March, and then to the international Association of Computer Investigative Specialists in Orlando, Fla., in April.

At both facilities, Bledsoe completed training sessions in basic and intermediate forensic techniques, as well as advanced e-mail and Internet techniques for dealing with online predators.

"He said it was the hardest, toughest training he's ever done in 25-plus years of law enforcement," Sheriff Rick Walter said.

To become a certified investigator in the field, Bledsoe still has a series of tests, and the process will take about a year, Walter said.

The second part of the grant program provides $20,947, which the sheriff's department used to purchase the hardware and software necessary to perform forensics exams when they seize a computer.

In the past, officers in Scott County were forced to rely on outside agencies, lengthening investigations and causing backlogs.

"With outsourcing, we were at someone else's mercy. We can do that now," Walter said.

There are several Scott County cases pending involving computer forensics, made possible with the new equipment and training, Walter said.

The sheriff's department was required to match 10 percent of the funds they received.

That money came from a special fund that comes from its paper service, instead of the regular budget, Walter said.

The 2008 Internet Cyber Crime Grant Program awards were granted to five county, eight city and two state agencies through a competitive application process, according to a news release from Gov. Matt Blunt's office.

"These grants will assist in combating devious criminals who use the Internet to attack Missouri's children," Blunt said in a prepared statement.

For Scott County, the grant means police can take a more proactive approach toward an ongoing problem Walter said was a "sign of the times."

"It's a problem we felt like we were working toward anyway, so it was great that the grant allowed us to do this," he said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245