A National Police Week Message from Our Rescue CEO Derek Benner
All of us who are serving or have served in law enforcement have peered into some of the darkest corners of humanity—investigating human trafficking, child exploitation, gang violence, cartel crimes, narcotics smuggling, illicit financial schemes, and fraud and scams.
These cases don’t just live in a file. They live with the agents and officers who carry them. They certainly still live in my memory, and they continue to fuel the work I do today as CEO of Our Rescue.
As we pause to observe and reflect during National Police Week, from May 11–17, 2025, I want to honor the heroic officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty and also recognize the courage of those who continue to protect our most vulnerable people and communities each day.
My badge now says retired but my journey in law enforcement began in 1991 with the U.S. Customs Service. Most of my career as a Special Agent was spent along the Southwest border. Eventually I served as Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego and ultimately led HSI as its Executive Associate Director.
Today, at Our Rescue, I still stand shoulder to shoulder with law enforcement in the fight against trafficking and exploitation. When I served, I believed that one of our most impactful partnerships was with nonprofit organizations. At Our Rescue, we strive to play that same critical role providing technology, tools, and training that help officers and investigators, especially when constrained by shrinking budgets and staff.
While Our Rescue has long had a global focus, one of my top priorities as CEO is expanding our impact here at home. There are 62 Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces across the country. Our goal is to support every single one of them. I also hope to join forces with other nonprofits in this space. We can and must do more together.
Historically, law enforcement hasn’t always been equipped to focus on survivor care. That has changed dramatically over time. At DHS, for example, my former colleague and good friend, Jim Cole, built the Victim Identification Lab at the Cyber Crime Center. DHS also developed the victim assistance program where coordinators work alongside agents from the outset. The initial contact with a victim is traumatic, and survivor-care professionals are there to transition the case from the criminal side to the human side. This model is now a central pillar of Our Rescue’s partnership approach.
This past year Our Rescue heavily invested in electronic storage detection (ESD) canines, forensic technology, and digital training. Traffickers today are hiding evidence in the tiniest of devices, in obscure places like books, ceiling tiles, even hollowed-out coins. With the help of ESD dogs, officers are locating hidden devices and collecting evidence that would otherwise be missed. What once took weeks to process can now take hours, which translates into more lives protected.
Yet, I hear every day how police departments across the country are overwhelmed. In child exploitation cases alone, we’re seeing backlogs of up to 50 cases or more. This isn’t just a resource gap. I see it as a justice gap. Just recently, we brought together 150 officers for a week-long training in Springfield, Missouri to share strategies, new technologies, and build connections across jurisdictions. These sessions are vital for those on the frontlines of trafficking cases. The more time law enforcement can collaborate and share their real-time investigative experience, we understand better how to fill critical gaps left by underfunded state and federal programs. I always said that some of the best education from a law enforcement perspective is agents telling stories to each other because you gain such an understanding of each other’s experiences.
So this National Police Week, I want to speak directly to my brothers and sisters in uniform:
I’ve only been gone for four years, but it will never leave me how dedicated and hardworking the officers, the investigators, the agents across this country are, doing this incredibly difficult work day in and day out. You are not alone.
Again, I deeply understand how these cases become the heaviest of burdens, how this work lives with you. We see you. We appreciate you. We want to be there to support you—every step of the way.
Support Our Rescue and stand with law enforcement this Police Week.
– Derek Benner
CEO, Our Rescue