Getting Started with CAC Ontology

Welcome to the CAC (Crimes Against Children) Ontology Family! This guide will help you get started with using the ontology in your investigations and applications.

What is CAC Ontology?

The CAC Ontology Family is a comprehensive semantic framework for modeling child exploitation investigations, operations, legal processes, reporting, offender tradecraft, and digital forensics activities. It extends the Unified Cyber Ontology (UCO) and the Cyber-investigation Analysis Standard Expression (CASE) Ontology, providing specialized modules for crimes against children investigations.

The CAC Ontology is shepherded by Project VIC International, but further development of this initiative is open to any participant. The ontology represents concepts used globally by government and law enforcement agencies, NGOs, academic organizations, and commercial industry, and we plan to continue evolving this family of ontologies to represent new victim-centric language as it develops worldwide.

Key Concepts

Namespace

All CAC Ontology modules use the standardized namespace structure:

Ontology Structure

The CAC Ontology Family consists of 30+ specialized modules organized into six domain areas:

  1. Core Framework (3 modules)
    • Base investigation framework and lifecycles
    • Hotline operations and report management
    • Enhanced NCMEC integration
  2. International Coordination & Global Frameworks (4 modules)
    • Global coordination & cross-border operations
    • Professional development & capacity building
    • Prevention programs & education
    • International legal framework
  3. High-Priority Criminal Activities (5+ modules)
    • CSAM production operations
    • Custodial relationships & positions of trust
    • Online grooming & enticement
    • Sexual extortion incidents
    • Athletic coaching exploitation
  4. Specialized Investigation (5+ modules)
    • Undercover operations
    • Physical evidence & procurement
    • Tactical law enforcement operations
    • Multi-jurisdictional operations
    • Stranger abduction patterns
  5. Technical Support (4+ modules)
    • Digital forensics
    • Content detection & classification
    • Technology platforms & service providers
    • Street-based recruitment patterns
  6. Victim Services & Task Force Management (5+ modules)
    • Victim impact assessment & recovery
    • CAC task force organization
    • Legal outcomes & sentencing
    • Specialized units & advanced capabilities
    • Sex offender registry management

Quick Start

Installation

  1. Clone the repository: 
    git clone https://github.com/Project-VIC-International/CAC-Ontology.git
cd CAC-Ontology
  2. Install dependencies (if using Python tools): 
    pip install -r requirements.txt

Basic Usage

Here’s a simple example of using CAC Ontology in Turtle format:

@prefix cacontology: <https://cacontology.projectvic.org#> .
@prefix cacontology-core: <https://cacontology.projectvic.org/core#> .

# Example: Create a CAC investigation
:investigation-001 a cacontology-core:CACInvestigation ;
    cacontology-core:hasReport :report-001 ;
    cacontology-core:status "active" ;
    cacontology-core:hasInvestigator :investigator-001 .

:report-001 a cacontology-core:Report ;
    cacontology-core:reportDate "2024-01-15"^^xsd:date ;
    cacontology-core:reportType "tip" .

Validation

The project includes comprehensive SHACL validation:

docker compose -f testing/docker-compose.yaml up -d
# Validation runs automatically on all ontology files

Next Steps

  1. Explore the Ontology: Visit the Ontology Documentation to learn about all available modules and classes.

  2. View Examples: Check out the Examples Gallery to see real-world use cases from actual investigations.

  3. Join the Community: Get involved with the CAC Ontology Community to connect with other users and contributors.

  4. Access Resources: Browse Resources for downloads, publications, and reference materials.

Integration with CASE and UCO

CAC Ontology is designed to work seamlessly with CASE and UCO ontologies. When using CAC Ontology, you can:

Documentation

Comprehensive documentation is available:

Support