OAK RIDGE, TN—The FBI’s Knoxville field office and the Oak Ridge Police Department are hosting child abduction training this week for law enforcement agencies from middle and east Tennessee. More than 100 officers from local, state, and other federal agencies gathered in Oak Ridge as FBI agents, who are experts in child abduction investigations, discussed best practices from cases they’ve worked. The agents are members of the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment, or CARD team and are assigned to various field offices throughout the United States. The instructors also explained the latest statistics and types of cases local and state officers are likely to encounter. A supervisory special agent assigned to the bureau’s elite behavioral analysis unit also outlined the various psychology surrounding the various types of abductions. The training ends on Thursday, January 25, 2018.

CARD team investigators are seasoned veterans of crimes against children cases—especially child abductions—and have received extensive training. While some local law enforcement agencies may only work one or two child abduction cases a year, CARD team agents work these kinds of cases all the time, keeping their unique skill set honed.

They often deploy to the abduction site with FBI behavioral analysis experts and technical specialists in tow. CARD team agents also work closely with National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime coordinators, members of the regional FBI-led Child Exploitation Task Forces, and representatives from our Violent Crimes Against Children Section at FBI Headquarters.

In addition to being on the scene within an hour or two to augment local resources, these agents can quickly establish on-site command posts to centralize investigative efforts. They also help map registered sex offenders in the area, handle national and international leads, guide investigative efforts using the protocols from the FBI’s child abduction response plan, coordinate forensic resources as needed, and incorporate the Bureau’s technical assets—which play an increasingly larger role in investigations where every minute counts.

More on the FBI’s CARD team : https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/investigating-child-abductions1