Law enforcement officers gather in Atlanta to combat child exploitation

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Hundreds of law enforcement officers from all over the country are in Atlanta for critical training in the fight against child exploitation.

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force put on the annual training, which involved approximately 1,500 officers from across the United States.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vic Reynolds said that unfortunately, these types of crimes against children continue to grow, and law enforcement officers need to know how to investigate them.

Reynolds helped welcome the officers to Atlanta during an opening ceremony Tuesday morning.

The training lasts three days, and the attendees have 150 sessions they can choose from, from lectures to hands-on labs.

They cover everything from teenagers sexting to undercover online chats to the dark web.

Reynolds said this training is also an important way for officers to share investigative techniques and information.

"The technology is growing, and as much good as that brings to us it also brings us bad as well. And sometimes these perpetrators use that technology to facilitate crime to the most vulnerable members of our society, and that's children," Reynolds said. "So it's extremely important that we bring local, state, and federal partners together to train so they know how to work these cases."

The GBI has 25 employees at the training this week.