Federal authorities are mustering all the help they can get to track down child predators.
They're expanding "Operation Predator," an app available for Android and iPhones, that asks you to help ICE track down wanted criminals.
"This app is one piece of our commitment to ensuring child predators have absolutely nowhere to hide," said Acting ICE Director Thomas Winkowski.
The app displays mugshots of fugitives wanted in child porn cases, describes their crimes and allows the public to call or send in tips.
The app also sends out alerts of wanted felons and allows users to further distribute that information on social media.
It was developed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which named its app after its effort to combat the large number of sexual exploitation of children every year.
The app is downloadable from the Google Play store and iTunes. It's also available in Spanish.
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The idea behind it?
The more the public puts eyes on these wanted criminals -- from anywhere, anytime on their mobile devices -- the better chances the cases will get solved.
Within 36 hours of its launch on iPhones and iPads in September 2013, the app was credited with helping capture a suspect, officials said. Tips from users of the app helped capture three other predators since then, said ICE Special Agent in Charge Claude Arnold, who is based in Los Angeles.
"The most important thing is that [this app] has raised awareness about child crimes," Arnold said.
Anti-child abuse advocates applaud the effort.
"Anything that draws public attention to this problem and the perpetrators is great," said Scott Berkowitz, the founder and president of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.
