Law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and state lawmakers meet in Jefferson City later this week to look for ways to attack cyber crimes.

Missouri has programs providing grants for local law enforcement agencies to hire cyber-detectives and forensics investigators.

This summit on Thursday and Friday is intended look at what is working and not working, especially in the way technology creates and circulated child pornography.

State Senator John Loudon says it’s hard to spot a lot of cyber-crimes as they’re happening…and many victims never step forward. He wants to spend the first day talking about what’s being done, with a second day spent creating a plan for a stronger attack on cyber crime.

He says the big focus will be on what tricks offenders are using–how they are networking and finding victims and how to stop them. Loudon says the state needs to have a policy of helping police as well as a way to give parents tools they need to keep their children out of trouble.

Among others involved–internet service providers whose technology is used to circulate child porn. Loudon says technology has pornography is more readily available to anybody than most adults realize…And he says most parents have no idea how easily their children can circulate–or create–pornographic images of other children.

Download Bob Priddy’s story (:58 mp3)