Screener

Appendix H
N-JOV4 Screener Survey

Fourth NATIONAL JUVENILE
ONLINE VICTIMIZATION STUDY
A Study of Technology-Facilitated Crimes against Juveniles

INSTRUCTIONS
•

Please help us gather information about this important problem by having a knowledgeable
person in your agency answer these questions about technology-facilitated crimes
involving child sexual exploitation material (child pornography) or child sexual exploitation.

•

The questions concern cases that resulted in arrests between January 1, 2019 and
December 31, 2019 and “sexting” cases you may have handled in 2019.

•

This survey should be completed by a representative who is most knowledgeable about
your agency’s investigation of technology-facilitated sex crimes against children.

Sponsored by:

Conducted by:

U.S. Department of Justice
National Institute of Justice
810 Seventh Street NW
Washington, DC 20531

Crimes against Children Research Center
University of New Hampshire
10 West Edge Drive, Ste. 106
Durham, NH 03824-3586
Toll Free Number: 1-xxx-xxx-xxxx
BURDEN STATEMENT

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the N-JOV Study? N-JOV is a study of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to
collect information from across the nation about technology-facilitated crimes with juvenile victims,
in particular sex crimes and child sexual exploitation image cases. The results will be reported to the
U.S. Department of Justice and be available to law enforcement agencies.
Why is the N-JOV Study being conducted? The N-JOV Study measures growth and change in
technology-facilitated sex crimes against juveniles. We have conducted three previous surveys. The
1st asked about cases ending in arrest in 2000, the 2nd asked about arrest cases in 2006, and the 3rd
about arrest cases in 2009. Policy makers and law enforcement officials will use the final study
results to help secure resources for investigators and encourage citizens to report these crimes. The
enclosed bulletin is an example of the information this research provides to law enforcement
policy makers.
Who sponsors the N-JOV Study? The N-JOV Study is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice,
National Institute of Justice.
Who is conducting the N-JOV Study? Researchers at the Crimes against Children Research Center
(CCRC) at the University of New Hampshire are conducting the N-JOV Study. The CCRC has
completed numerous studies about crimes with juvenile victims. Information about us and copies of
reports from the previous three N-JOV Studies can be downloaded from our website at
www.unh.edu/ccrc.
How was our agency chosen? Your agency was chosen randomly from a list of U.S. law enforcement
agencies. You are part of a national sample of approximately 2500 agencies.
Why is our participation important, even if we don’t have any of these cases? Your participation in
this study is entirely voluntary. However, we need your response to make the study results accurate.
Even if your agency did not investigate any relevant cases please complete and return this survey.
Whatever your agency’s experiences, they represent the experiences of other agencies like yours
across the nation.
What will you do with the completed mail surveys? If your agency has a case related to the N-JOV
Study, we will contact you to schedule a short telephone interview with the key investigating officer.
Interviews should last approximately 30 minutes and will ask about case characteristics.
What security and confidentiality protections are in place for the N-JOV Study? Agency names,
names of individuals, and other identifying information will not be used in any reports, published
materials or discussions of the study results. In fact, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) approves a
Privacy Certificate for every study funded by their agency. If we call you back to gather more
information about a case, we will not ask you for information, like names, that would identify specific
victims. Also, information that could link a specific agency with any data gathered will be accessible
Page 2 of 11

only to the researchers, all of whom have signed non-disclosure agreements, as required by federal
law. Further, federal law states that information gathered for research studies is immune from legal
process, including subpoenas, and may be used for research and statistical studies only (34 USC
10231a).
Who can we contact for questions? If you have questions about the survey, or if your agency has
made too many arrests to list on this form, please call the study director, Kimberly Mitchell, at our
toll-free number, 1-877-XXX-XXXX. If you have any questions about your rights as a research subject
you may contact Melissa McGee in the UNH Research Integrity Services Office at 603-862-2005 or
Melissa.McGee@unh.edu to discuss them.

GLOSSARY OF STUDY TERMS
Arrest

Includes cases where an arrest has been made, a warrant has been issued
but no arrest made, or an offender has been arraigned without arrest.

Child / minor / juvenile

Person under the age of 18.

Sexual exploitation

Any kind of a sex crime or offense involving sexual acts or sexual
material, including consensual acts like statutory rape and
misdemeanors like contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Identified victim
Suspect
Child sexual exploitation
material (CSEM)

A victim who was identified and contacted as a result of the investigation.
A person who is accused or suspected of committing a crime.
Pictures, videos, or other visual material that shows a person who is a
child (< 18 years old) engaged in explicit sexual activity or represented
in a sexual context. CSEM includes materials that are sometimes referred
to as child pornography.
A commercial sex act that is induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in
which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of
age.
A preparatory process in which a perpetrator gradually gains a person’s
or organization’s trust with the intent to be sexually abusive.

Sex trafficking

Grooming

Page 3 of 11

ONLINE ENTICEMENT
1.

Does your agency have jurisdiction to conduct criminal investigations of cases involving child
sexual assault, child sexual exploitation or the possession or distribution of child sexual
exploitation material (i.e., child pornography)?
 Yes
 No (Go to Last Page)

2.

Between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, did your agency make ANY ARRESTS in cases
involving the attempted or completed sexual exploitation of a minor, AND at least one of the
following occurred:
 The offender and the victim first met through technology
 The offender committed a sexual offense where technology was used to facilitate the
crime in some way (e.g., grooming, trafficking), regardless of whether or not they first
met online

3.

Did you answer “yes” to any item in Question #2?
 Yes (Continue below)
 No (Go to Page 6)

4.

Indicate the total number of arrests your agency made between January 1, 2019 and December
31, 2019 that fit one or more of the criteria given in Question #2.

IMPORTANT: Please provide more information about each case in the Question #4 total by
completing Page 5.

Page 4 of 11

CASE IDENTIFICATION
For all arrests included in the total in Question 4 on the previous page, please provide the following information:
Case number (or
Name of key investigator
Phone number of key
E-mail address
other identifying
(or person most knowledgeable
investigator
of key investigator
information)
about the case)

(Insert additional pages to continue this listing, if necessary). Note. Researchers will be calling key investigators for confidential
follow-up interviews about some of these cases.

Page 5 of 11

CHLID SEXUAL EXPLOITATION MATERIAL
1.

Between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, did your agency make ANY ARRESTS in cases
involving the possession, distribution, access, or production of child sexual exploitation
material (i.e., child pornography), and at least one of the following occurred:
 Illegal images were found on technology (cloud, computer, flash drives, memory cards,
tablet, cell phone etc.) possessed or accessed by the suspect
 The suspect used technology to order or sell child sexual exploitation material
 There was other evidence that illegal images were downloaded from the Internet or
distributed by the suspect using technology
 The suspect was using steaming apps to view live video of child sexual exploitation

2.

Did you answer “yes” to any item in Question #1?
 Yes (Continue below)
 No (Go to Page 8)

3.

Indicate the total number of arrests your agency made between January 1, 2019 and December
31, 2019 that fit one or more of the criteria given in Question #1.

IMPORTANT: Please provide more information about each case in the Question #3 total by
completing Page 7.

Page 6 of 11

CASE IDENTIFICATION
For all arrests included in the total in Question 3 on the previous page, please provide the following information:
Case number (or
other identifying
information)

Name of key investigator
(or person most knowledgeable
about the case)

Phone number of key
investigator

E-mail address
of key investigator

(Insert additional pages to continue this listing, if necessary). Note. Researchers will be calling key investigators for confidential
follow-up interviews about some of these cases.
Page 7 of 11

YOUTH PRODUCED SEXUAL IMAGES (SEXTING)
The following questions cover ALL CASES MEETING THE
CRITERIA BELOW, BUT WHERE NO ONE WAS ARRESTED.
1.

Between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, did your agency handle any cases that did
not result in an arrest that involved sexual images created by minors (age 17 or younger) AND
these images were or could have been child sexual exploitation material (child pornography)
under the statutes of your jurisdiction? Please include:





Cases where minors took pictures of themselves OR other minors, including “sexting”
Cases that may have been crimes, but were not prosecuted for various reasons
Cases that were handled as juvenile offenses
Other cases involving sexual images produced by juveniles and an arrest was not made

2.

Did you answer “yes” to any item in Question #1?
 Yes (Continue below)
 No (Go to Page 10)

3.

Indicate the total number of these cases handled by your agency between January 1, 2019 and
December 31, 2019 that fit one or more of the criteria given in Question #1.

IMPORTANT: Please provide specific information about each case by completing Page 9 on
the next page.

Page 8 of 11

CASE IDENTIFICATION
For all arrests included in the total in Question 3 on the previous page, please provide the following information:
Case number (or
other identifying
information)

Name of key investigator
(or person most knowledgeable
about the case)

Phone number of key
investigator

E-mail address
of key investigator

(Insert additional pages to continue this listing, if necessary). Note. Researchers will be calling key investigators for confidential
follow-up interviews about some of these cases.
Page 9 of 11

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

1.

In the sections above we asked for information on arrests for technology-facilitated sex crimes
against children. We’re also interested in learning about the total volume of reports your
agency received in 2019. Approximately how many reports did your agency receive in 2019 for
technology-facilitated sex crimes against children, regardless of whether an arrest was made or
not? __________ # reports
Approximately how many of these reports, if any, were received from the CyberTipline
(National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)? ________ # reports

2.

Is the number of referrals of technology-facilitated sex crimes against children so large that you
have to use a system for triaging or setting priority among cases?
o Yes
o No
o Not sure
If yes, can you indicate which of the following are very important, somewhat important or not
important when triaging cases:
Very
Somewhat
Not
important
important
important
Amount of identifying information about the
suspect
Amount of identifying information about a
victim(s)
Amount of time elapsed between the evidence
and receiving the report in your agency
Confirmation of illegal content or activity
Volume of illegal content
Extremity of the illegal content
Whether the suspect has access to children
Which technology platforms are involved
Source of the report
Indicators of violence
Agency resources
Something else
______________________________________________________________________________

Page 10 of 11

INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY:
Today’s Date
Name
Position or Title
Agency Name
Department or Unit
City and State
Zip code
Phone Number
Email Address

THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THIS SURVEY.
PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM IN THE
POSTAGE-PAID ENVELOPE PROVIDED.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about technology-facilitated sex crimes against
children you have encountered? If so, please use this space for that purpose. Also, any
comments you wish to make that you think may help us in future efforts to understand these
crimes will be appreciated, either here, call us at 1-xxx-xxx-xxxx or email
Kimberly.Mitchell@unh.edu.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Your contribution to this study is greatly appreciated.
Page 11 of 11