The Federal Bureau of Investigation announces it will be conducting an operation this summer, targeting violent crime, drug trafficking, and child offenses.
The FBI conducted ‘Operation Summer Heat’ in 2025, leading to over 8,600 arrests, over 2,300 firearms seized, and over 45,000 kilograms of illegal narcotics.
“Based on the success of that initial operation … the FBI launched Operation Summer Heat 2.0,’’ said Ryan Presley, Special Agent with the FBI. “ The focus of which is the very same. And while I don’t have any statistics for you (yet), because that operation is really only two or three weeks old at this point, I can tell you that it has been equally effective, if not more so.”
Presley says operations like ‘Summer Heat 2.0’ cannot happen without the aid of local law enforcement.
“While we led the operation, it was wholly dependent upon the relationships that we have with all of our local and state partners,” Presley added. “Without them, none of those results would have been able to have been achieved.”
As for how to protect your children from predators.
“Unfortunately, that is a reality that we as parents have to contend with, and we need to obviously take a concerted effort in protecting our children,” Presley said. “I think it first starts with engagement at home and having those conversations, you know, and when things seem off, or if you have information that you think may be indicative of some sort of, you know, targeting of your children.”
Presley says if you become aware of inappropriate conversations, reach out to law enforcement or the FBI.
“Feel comfortable that you have a full knowledge of what platforms your children are active on,” Presley said. “In terms of posting content about your children or your family, you always want to be selective and judicious in the type of imagery or content that you post online. Be mindful of things that identify them, you know, personally, … in terms of not only themselves of individuals, but also locations and those sorts of things. You just need to be careful about putting that stuff out there.”
Jake Griffin, FBI Special Agent with Public Affairs, said recently the bureau met with a social media representative on suggestions to keep kids safe.
“They suggested that parents make sure their kids are using the like teen accounts, and they kind of showed us exactly the restrictions that those teen accounts provide compared to like maybe an adult account,” Griffin said. “It let the kid use the app, and they talk to their friends, but it certainly restricted them from speaking to maybe adults they don’t know, so they asked us to kind of spread the word to parents, saying,
“Hey, make sure the account that your child is signing up for is definitely the teen account.”
And with artificial intelligence becoming easier to use, Presley said there has been an “increased incidence” of predators using AI to target children through sextortion and other illegal means.
“Kids being glued to their devices and being afraid of parents kind of looking at what’s going on, sometimes there’s some self-abuse, so like wearing clothes that are unseasonably dry… they’re trying to cover up some marks or stuff like that,” Presley said. “[And] pulling away from activities that they normally would be doing. I know we’re in the summer now, so that’s not as obvious, but like, say, if it were school quitting clubs, not doing as well, not talking, kind of dropping friendships. These can all be subtle hints that something’s going on.”
Presley says there is good news with violent crime numbers decreasing.
“I think you’ll find that when you look at crime data, you’ll see that overall violent crime is down from last year, he said. “Specifically, I’m talking about things like aggravated assaults, homicides, rapes, and so on and so forth.’’
He added those numbers include drops in burglary, larceny and general thefts.
“I will tell you, there’s been an increase in drug arrests, but along with that, there’s also been an increase in closure of those investigations,” Presley said. “I think that is directly attributable to a lot of the law enforcement activity in the Danville area, specifically on the part of the FBI, and probably more important, on the part of our partners that are out there working the streets every day.”
Both agents say that if an individual has something to report, but they are afraid of someone finding out, call the FBI.
“We’d be happy to look at all tips, no matter how big or small, to see if they fit into that operation, and you know, present us with an opportunity to help protect their community,” Presley said.