April is Child Abuse Awareness Month and recently local authorities spoke with Regional Radio News about the issue from a national perspective and how they deal with it locally.

Clinton Police Chief Ben Lowers indicates the City of Clinton falls pretty close to in line with the national statistics when it comes to abuse of children. He says when a case of abuse comes in, it is something they take very seriously.

Detective Todd Ummell says when it comes to abuse in DeWitt County, it is mostly targeted at children and it is of a sexual nature.

Detective Ummell points out, the perpetrators in cases like these are often known. He explains they often don't have seek out suspects and learn the identities, however, he says that also comes with a difficulty to get information from perpetrators, which makes them hard cases to prove.

There is a very delicate process to go through to get as much information out of the child, who is the alleged victim in these cases. Detective Ummell says they have a great relationship with the Children's Advocacy Center, who has a satellite office in Clinton.

Later this week on Regional Radio News, learn about that process and the careful steps law enforcement and other entities go through during the investigative process.