Welcome to the New York State Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) website. The New York ICAC is a task force composed of law enforcement investigators, analysts, and prosecutors from the New York State Police, the New York State Attorney General's Office, and the Department of Criminal Justice Services of New York State, as well as many other county and local law enforcement agencies. Headquartered within the New York State Police Computer Crime Unit in Albany, we are tasked with the investigation of crimes involving the use of computers and the Internet in the sexual exploitation of children, as well as the education of students, teachers and the general public as to the potential dangers that children face when they access the Internet.

One in seven children that use the Internet have received an unwanted sexual solicitation.

One in seven. That might mean a child in your family, it probably means a child on your street, and almost certainly means a child in your neighborhood.

In the 21st century our children's greatest danger has become the Internet predator. A predator cannot enter a school disguised as a child, but can easily pretend to be a child in an online communication. Through the use of chat rooms, adult strangers can have direct one-to-one access to our children. The perceived safety of the home setting, combined with our children's natural trust, may lead them to forget that these people are strangers. This makes it easier for the predator to prey on children with whom they would otherwise never have contact.

In many ways, the Internet is much like a large city.

We hope that this site serves as an effective tool for children and adults alike as you make your way through the many shopping malls, schools, libraries, parks and other places you may find on the Information Superhighway. If you find that you have questions about our site, about the dangers that may be found on the Internet, or about how we can better help you stay safe "out there", don't hesitate to contact us!