FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 19, 2024

St. Helens, Ore. - In October 2023, the St. Helens Police Department was awarded $340,000 from a Department of Justice Congressional appropriation to upgrade law enforcement technology related to child abuse investigations.

The St. Helens Police Department used the funding to train two detectives to become mobile device examiners in several platforms and to build a forensic computer lab capable of handling the high volume of cases the Department receives. The forensic computer lab will assist detectives in navigating the complex systems used to conduct examinations for years to come.

The lab has been fully operational since July 2024. Since then, St. Helens detectives have completed 13 forensic examinations and analyses of data, with additional devices in the queue for examination. These investigations have included cases involving child sexual abuse, child pornography, domestic violence, financial elder abuse, and assistance rendered to an outside agency on a murder investigation.

The St. Helens Police Department is grateful for the partnership of Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley in securing funding for this project, as well as the direct assistance from the United States Department of Justice to help us protect our most vulnerable community members: our children. This funding will assist us in increasing high quality service and the documentation needed to bring justice to exploited children.

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For further information regarding this press release, please contact Communications Officer Crystal King at [email protected].