Baton Rouge – The coronavirus pandemic has led to school closures throughout the state. Consequently, there has been a substantial increase in the amount of time our children are spending online. The increased unfettered access has led to amplified opportunities for online child predators.

Troopers from the Louisiana State Police Special Victims Unit recommend the following:

· Communicate with your children the importance of healthy online activity

· Look for changes in your child’s behavior

· Familiarize yourself with the applications your children are using and verify your child knows who they are communicating with.

· Research online monitoring applications to determine if these platforms would allow you to better monitor your child’s online activity across multiple platforms.

The LSP Special Victims Unit works to rescue and seek justice for the victims of crimes involving the exploitation of children and the trafficking of humans for sex or labor. The public plays an important role in identifying suspects accused of these crimes, and is urged to report criminal or suspicious activity. The Louisiana State Police online reporting system is available to the public through an anonymous reporting form that is submitted to the appropriate investigators. The form can be found by visiting http://la-safe.org/ and clicking on the “Suspicious Activity” link.