The speed at which technology can now intervene in the worst of crimes is no longer theoretical. A new system, developed by the nonprofit DeliverFund, just proved it can link a missing child to an online commercial sex advertisement and get law enforcement moving in under 120 minutes. That is not a simulation — it happened in a real case.
ARC, The Automated Recognition of Missing Children, generated an alert that led to an active law enforcement search within two hours
ARC is DeliverFund's newest technology. ARC stands for The Automated Recognition of Missing Children. It automatically compares photographs of missing children with images from online commercial sex advertisements, then alerts DeliverFund analysts when it finds a potential match. In its first real-world application, ARC matched a missing child's photograph to an image in an online advertisement. Law enforcement officers were actively searching for the child within two hours of the system's alert.
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What Is ARC?
ARC is a donor-funded technology developed by DeliverFund, a nonprofit that puts counter-trafficking intelligence and technology into the hands of law enforcement. ARC compares photographs from missing-child records, including records published by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), with images collected from online commercial sex advertisements. Doing these comparisons by hand would take an enormous amount of analyst time. ARC does them automatically and flags potential matches for human review.
How Did ARC Help Find a Missing Child?
ARC matched a photograph published by NCMEC to an image in an online commercial sex advertisement. The system automatically alerted DeliverFund analysts, who notified Homeland Security. Within two hours of the alert, law enforcement officers were actively searching for the child.
This was a critical milestone for DeliverFund's newest technology. After initial proof-of-concept testing, it showed that ARC's automated matching and alert process works in a real-world application.
Where Does ARC Operate Today?
During this first deployment, ARC operated in select major metropolitan areas and compared only the first photograph in each advertisement. Even with that limited scope, it produced a lead law enforcement could act on.
How Will ARC Expand?
DeliverFund is seeking more donor support so ARC can cover more locations and compare more images per advertisement. The goal is to find potential matches in more communities and get those leads to the law enforcement officers who can investigate them.
Does ARC Replace Investigators?
No. ARC supports lawful investigations. It does not replace human judgment. The system flags potential matches for DeliverFund analysts to review and share with law enforcement. Police and prosecutors keep responsibility for investigative and charging decisions. An image match is an investigative lead. It is not proof of a crime or a determination of guilt.
Frequently Asked Questions About ARC
What does ARC stand for?
ARC stands for The Automated Recognition of Missing Children.
Who developed ARC?
ARC was developed by DeliverFund, a counter-trafficking nonprofit, with funding from donors.
What does ARC do?
ARC automatically compares photographs of missing children with images from online commercial sex advertisements and alerts analysts to potential matches.
Has ARC worked in a real case?
Yes. ARC matched a missing child's photograph to an online advertisement. That match led to an active law enforcement search within two hours of the alert.
How can people support ARC?
People can donate to expand ARC at DeliverFund.org.
About DeliverFund
DeliverFund is a nonprofit organization working to put human traffickers out of business by equipping law enforcement with counter-trafficking intelligence and technology. Guided by the belief that everyone is worthy of rescue, DeliverFund connects information across jurisdictions into intelligence police can use to pursue traffickers and prosecutors can use to build cases. Learn more at DeliverFund.org
Addy Walters
DeliverFund
+1 844-919-3863
giving@deliverfund.org
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BREAKING NEWS: ARC Identifies Missing Trafficked Child
Why it matters: This technology shrinks the window between a child being trafficked and law enforcement intervention from days or weeks to mere hours. If ARC can scale with donor support, it could fundamentally change how quickly missing children are found and rescued across the country.
