PROVINCE HONOURS ICE UNIT

The Province of Saskatchewan is congratulating the members of the Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) for the work they have been doing in the fight against child pornography.

"Child abuse and child pornography are very disturbing and go against everything our society stands for," Minister responsible for Corrections and Policing Christine Tell said. "I am confident that the work of the Internet Child Exploitation Unit and their partners will result in more of these predators being brought to justice. On behalf of the province, I wish to thank them for their efforts in keeping Saskatchewan and Canada among the best places in the world to live."

Recently the members of the ICE unit contributed to a major child pornography bust and helped rescue a boy in Saskatchewan from years of child abuse. "Operation Snapshot" was a multi-agency investigation that resulted in the arrest of 22 people in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Charges have been laid against 11 of the people from Saskatchewan, four from Alberta and two from Manitoba.

"Saskatchewan's ICE Unit is a multi-agency investigative unit with a mandate to protect our children from offenders who are utilizing the internet and various social media sites to commit offences," Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation Unit Provincial Co-ordinator Staff Sergeant Ron Weir said. "These investigations are very technical in nature; however, with the continued backing of the provincial government, ICE investigators are able to focus on these predators and protect our children."

Established in 2009, ICE Unit has been involved in more than 750 investigations and has laid 250 Criminal Code charges. They have also participated in the confirmed rescues of children in Saskatchewan and across Canada. The unit is funded by the province and currently has a complement of 11 officers from the RCMP and municipal police services.

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For more information, contact:

Judy Orthner
Corrections and Policing
Regina
Phone: 306-787-5883
Email: Judy.Orthnor@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-535-2233