More than 70 endangered children were rescued in Texas in 2016. The Texas Department of Public Safety reports that 76 missing, exploited, or at-risk children were rescued by DPS Troopers, who also initiated 42 related criminal investigations.
The DPS Interdiction for the Protection of Children program, the IPC, was implemented in 2009 to teach law enforcement officers how to recognize endangered children who might not actively seek help or exhibit signs of abuse.
Of the 76 children rescued in 2016, 19 of them were rescued in December alone. Since 2009, the IPC program has led to the rescue of more than 250 children.
The 2016 DPS criminal investigations included sexual assault of a child, possession of child pornography, human trafficking, indecency with a child, and potential non-compliant registered sex offenders.