Alberta’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit: How police across the province are collaborating to catch predators

A person uses a mobile device. (File photo.)

Although it may not have the name recognition of a city police force, Alberta’s ICE Unit announced many of the charges laid in child sexual exploitation cases in Alberta in 2024. This is what it does and how.

• Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News Edmonton, right at your fingertips

The ICE Unit is part of Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), a government agency through which police from across Alberta, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, collaborate on some of the most serious crimes.

ALERT’s units specialize in organized crime and gangs, human trafficking and internet child exploitation, be it child sexual abuse material or luring, voyeurism and trade offences.

The ICE Unit is broken into two geographical teams, with Wetaskiwin as the boundary line.

Often, Canada’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre (NCECC) in Ottawa sends information or potential cases to the appropriate jurisdiction. For example, information from an electronic service provider like Meta or Snapchat lands at the NCECC first.

Sometimes, crimes are reported straight to the ICE Unit or a municipal police agency.

Other times, law enforcement in other countries – such as the U.S.' Federal Bureau of Investigation or Homeland Security Investigations – reach out with information obtained during their own investigations.

The benefit of the ICE Unit, its members say, is that it mimics the nature and most dangerous aspect of internet exploitation.

“There’s no boundaries anymore with the internet,” said Dean Jacobs, a Calgary detective and member of the Southern Alberta ICE Unit, in a recent interview. “Someone can be in the Philippines doing a live cam stream in Calgary.”

ICE, through the NCECC, which coordinates with international law enforcement, is likewise not restricted by boundaries and distance.

“Where we see more and more of the international cooperation is through the use of our digital forensic services, when they’re able to get into devices and start mapping out that this person was in contact with this person, who was in contact with this person… We’re able to forward that information off to other police or jurisdiction, whether the’re down in the States or they’re overseas, and say, ‘As a result of our investigation, we’ve determined someone who may be committing an offence in your area,’” explained Scott Sterling, a Mountie and member of the Northern Alberta ICE Unit.

ICE counted more than 5,000 files in 2024 compared with about 3,600 in 2023. Sterling called the increase “not quite exponential, but tremendous growth.” Obviously, reporting is up. But it could mean the problem is growing, too.

Certainly, Sterling said, the internet has enabled predators to find a community easier.

Public education about this fact is the other part of ICE’s work. ICE now has a full-time community engagement position who, among other things, presents in schools and communities.

“The aim of that is to leverage the assistance of parents. Sextortion, luring, these are things that we can make meaningful progress in prevention,” Sterling said.

“We can’t be everywhere at once,” Jacobs added.

ICE’s message is not that there is such a thing as a bad app, but that bad behaviour is possible on any platform. Therefore, it’s more important for families to teach kids about digital literacy.

“You’re providing them with the tools to navigate any app, as opposed to just trying to keep them away from certain ones.”

ICE also educates families on what to do when a child discloses potential abuse, starting with receiving the information calmly, carefully and without judgement, and calling police.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson and CTV News Calgary