Advancing child sexual abuse investigations using biometrics and social network analysis
Russell Brewer, Bryce Garreth Westlake, Thomas Swearingen, Stephen Patterson, David Bright, Arun A. Ross, Katie Logos, Dana Michalski · Australian Institute of Criminology eBooks · 2023
This paper demonstrates how biometric features can be extracted from people in child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and examined using social network analysis to reveal important patterns across seized media files. Using an automated software system previously developed by the research team (the Biometric Analyser and Network Extractor), we extract, match and plot multiple biometric attributes (face and voice) from a database of CSAM videos compiled by law enforcement. We apply a series of network measures to illustrate how the biometric match data can be used to rapidly pinpoint key media files associated with an investigation, without the need for an investigator to manually review and catalogue all files. Future directions for this research are also discussed.