By Susan Redden

sredden@joplinglobe.com

Michael Gibbons said Monday that if he is elected Missouri’s next attorney general, he will create a special cyber-crimes unit within that office to help protect children from sexual predators on the Internet.

The unit would work closely with law enforcement in fighting those crimes and other Internet crimes aimed at defrauding Missouri residents, Gibbons said in a Joplin stop that was part of a series of news conferences around the state.

Gibbons, the Republican candidate, cited national statistics that he said show that one in five young people on the Internet have received an uninvited sexual solicitation.

He said his office would have “zero tolerance for anyone who uses the Internet as a weapon,” and that the special unit he proposes would provide “essential resources in the ongoing fight against Internet predators.”

Under current Attorney General Jay Nixon, the office has a high-technology and computer-crimes unit in its Public Safety Division, Gibbons noted. He said he plans a stand-alone unit that would work with law enforcement and the public to combat Internet crimes. He said the goal of the unit would be to provide resources to help local law enforcement catch Internet predators, foster communication among law-enforcement agencies investigating Internet crimes, and educate members of the public on the dangers of cyber crimes and the resources available to protect themselves.

“We have to have a cutting-edge attack on these sorts of crimes, and a lot of law-enforcement agencies don’t have the resources or the computer forensic skills that are needed,” he said.

As president pro tem of the Missouri Senate, Gibbons said the chamber last session passed one of the toughest child-sex-offender laws in the nation and approved funding for local law-enforcement cyber-crimes units. He co-sponsored the Senate bill that was signed into law calling for $3 million in funding over the next fiscal year for the local task forces. He called on the Legislature and all gubernatorial candidates to commit to full funding for the program.

He said the unit would provide specialized training for law enforcement to investigate Internet crimes, provide resources to local law enforcement, and facilitate strong communication among agencies to more effectively track and capture predators.

Gibbons said a cyber-crimes tip line would be part of the unit. He said he also would create an alert network to warn Missourians, through the media, e-mail and text messages, of current scams and predators so they can protect themselves and their families.