Project Safe Childhood (PSC) in Maryland is a unified and comprehensive strategy to combat on-line child exploitation and abuse that combines law enforcement efforts, community action and public awareness. There are five essential components to Project Safe Childhood in Maryland: building partnerships, law enforcement coordination, training, public awareness and accountability. The success of this strategy depends on a team effort among our local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, and on the awareness, dedication and determination of concerned citizens. community activists, parents, educators, and civic organizations.

In the District of Maryland, there are already strong and effective partnerships between and among state, local and federal law enforcement, all focused on the prosecution and eradication of child exploitation. State and local law enforcement work closely with federal authorities to pool intelligence and resources, and to ensure that offenders are prosecuted where they will receive appropriate sentences for their conduct.

The District of Maryland has traditionally been in the forefront of the federal effort to stamp out child exploitation, particularly through the FBI’s Innocent Images program, located in Baltimore. This program has been highly effective in arresting and convicting “travelers,” predators who seek to entice and compromise young internet users. The District of Maryland has also benefited from the presence nearby of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the United States Department of Justice, which has supplied resources and expertise, including a full-time Special AUSA from CEOS.

Click here for information on the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood.