WVSP Asking for More Manpower

West Virginia State Police officials say they need more manpower to combat child pornography and Internet sexual predators.

The State Police digital forensics lab at Marshall University in Huntington has a six-month backlog of cases.

A similar lab in Morgantown has a 14-month backlog.

State police officials recently met at the Huntington lab with members of the Legislature's Select Committee on Crimes Against Children to inform the lawmakers about the need for more troopers.

Sgt. Dave Eldrige told the lawmakers that the State Police Crimes Against Children Unit conducted 665 investigations in 2012 and made 197 arrests.

The unit's commander, 1st Lt. D.L. Frye, said the agency wants to be more proactive but lacks the manpower.