LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Detectives in the crimes against children division tackle some of the most difficult cases police investigate. However, as technology continues to advance, they’re up against a growing societal foothold – artificial intelligence.
Detective Jeff Buschman serves in the internet crimes against children division for the Lubbock Police Department. He explains they receive cases based off of tips from other agencies and the public.
“The very first thing we have to do is say, ‘Okay, is this a crime that occurred here in Lubbock, Texas,’” Bushman said.
Once LPD verifies the case is based in Lubbock, investigators start gathering information. One of the places they turn to is social media and internet service providers, which Buschman said is one of the longest parts of the investigation process.
“As we start to send out subpoenas and then these search warrants, we’re sending them to these large internet companies,” Buschman said. “We’re it to, if you think of, places like Facebook, AT&T, Verizon, and we’re really moving at the speed that they allow us to move.”
Along with delayed responses, detectives are often forced to narrow their request parameters. This makes the information request take longer. Once results finally roll in, law enforcement then has to comb through years of data. The return often provides messages, contact information, posts people have made or interacted with, links and advertisements they’ve interacted with.
“So, you’re trying to sort of weed out the noise,” Buschman explains. “You kind of have to push that aside and go ‘I really just need to see, for instance, if this suspect communicated with this victim in this way.’”
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports it received 20.5 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation last year. Those allegations involve nearly 63 million photos or videos.
Buschman explains part of that statistic could be children getting tricked by online predators who are posing as another child or teenager.
“There’s an entire app, that its whole goal is to say, ‘Hey, if you send it. It will be deleted’ and that’s what every kid communicates with right? They think, you know, those pictures are gone now,” Buschman said.
LPD wants to be clear that’s not the case.
“You need to say as a parent, ‘Hey, those pictures aren’t gone.’ As a detective, I can tell you, that when we do search warrants those pictures are not gone,” Buschman said. “We get those returns back.”
He urges parents and guardians to maintain open conversation with their child while also setting a clear boundary when it comes to social media, the internet and technology.
“Just going into your kid’s life and treating it like any other part of their life,” Buschman said.
He compared it to asking to go to a friend’s house. Parents want to know: Whose house? Where is it? Who all will be there? How are you getting there and getting home? Buschman said conversations need to be similar when it comes to the online sphere.
“Not even in a bad way, just in a way that said I care enough about my child that I want to keep them safe,” Buschman said.
To the rest of the public, LPD encourages awareness. The department is asking for you to follow the protocol: if you see something, say something.
“If a child makes an outcry to you, we need people to stand in that gap for that kid and to come forward,” Buschman said.
LPD encourages you to do that in anyway, but detectives with the crimes against children division are specifically requesting you don’t do it anonymously. Buschman explains, anonymous tips slow down an investigation.
“How could this person know this much,” Buschman said, “and yet, I don’t even know who they are?”
Without a name, detectives are left with no place to start. They have the information, but no way to ask or answer questions. Buschman said that changes when a person comes forward and is willing to stick around by the child’s side.
Then detectives can ask the basic questions that reveal big answers in an investigation.
“Tell me, how long have you seen this? Tell me, what do you know about all of this?” Buschman questions.
He said having a name give law enforcement a boost in the investigative process and help them give a child justice.
“I think being willing to come forward and go through the entire process that would make this community protect our kids so much better,” Buschman said.
Buschman urges anyone who knows of a crime or suspicious activity to report it to law enforcement. Tips can be made by calling Crimeline at (806) 741-1000 or filing an online report through P3 Tips, an online system used by LPD.
If you’re uncomfortable going straight to law enforcement, reports can be filed online with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children or through the centers 24-hour hotline: 1-800-843-5678.
Copyright 2025 KCBD. All rights reserved.