Revamped programs help OSI stay on top of its game

Published Feb. 5, 2013
By Brandice J. O'Brien
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The Office of Special Investigations is as vigilant as ever. Having revamped one external and one internal program, Detachment 114 special agents are on their game and better prepared for what's out there.

The external Air Force Eagle Eyes Program is a way to anonymously report suspicious behavior. To make the program more user friendly, users can submit a tip through a text, online or a smartphone application. The internal Internet Crimes Against Children task force is a state and local partnership that investigates and trains officers on detecting child pornography use.

"Law enforcement has really amazing ways of tracking down people who are viewing child pornography online now," said Special Agent Anya Sira of OSI Det. 114 who works in the counter-intelligence field. "I don't think the people who commit the act online know that they can be tracked."

Even if they didn't, the revamped Eagle Eyes Program could help in a big way.

"The Eagle Eyes program had been outdated by asking people to come to OSI or give us a call and in today's world, that's not very realistic," she said. "We have made the program a little more user friendly so people are apt to report crimes or report suspicious activity to us."

Users who download the smartphone application will manually choose an agency from the selection, create a password and select the "tip" icon. In that field, users will describe the incident with as much detail as possible. When finished, they can submit the tip to "AFOSI" at 274637, or "Crimes." A confirmation number will be assigned to the tip and users can later go back and check the status of the tip.

"There are witnesses who do not feel comfortable calling the cops, so Eagle Eyes is the perfect opportunity to report a tip to us anonymously," the agent said.

Agent Sira said tips are sent directly to OSI Headquarters and filtered to the appropriate OSI detachment.

Internet Crimes Against Children began in 1998 and involves many agencies spreading across several jurisdictions. At Tinker, there have been at least three child pornography investigations in the last three years.

Nationwide, the statistics are staggering. Agent Sira said 800,000 children are reported missing every year, or 2,000 children are reported missing each day. One in five girls will be sexually victimized before their 18th birthday, whereas one in 10 boys will be sexually victimized before they turn 18. And of them, only one in three children will tell someone about the abuse.

When an investigation arises, oftentimes the task force will share information with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a national and nonprofit organization that provides resources to law enforcement about missing and exploited children.
Agent Sira said the most important notion for base personnel to know is it is crucial for anyone witnessing any sort of crime to report it.