Internet Safety
By Officer Aaron Aragon
As parents, we always try to protect our children from anything harmful that arise through out our child’s life. The fact is that we have a great advantage of living in a small community. With a small community, we have the ability to know who our children’s friends are and are able to ward off negative influences or people who have malicious intents. But with the start of the computer age, the children of our community are opened up to a whole world of people who do not have the children of our community’s interest in mind. In November of 2006, Myspace.com had 130 million users making it the 4th most visited site on the internet surpassing eBay, Google and AOL. Since 2006, even more networking sites have been established including Bebo.com and Facebook.com. With the rise in the teenage usage of social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace or any chat rooms, parents need to be even more cautious and play a bigger role in knowing what their children are doing on the computer. No to long ago, Dateline ran a special called “To Catch a Predator”. For those who never saw the show, Dateline would work in conjunction with local police departments for the sole purpose of catching internet predators. The predators would have contact through the internet with what they believed to be a juvenile male or female. The predator would then solicit sexual acts and a place to meet the juvenile would be arranged. When the predators would arrive, they would meet up with the host of show and be questioned on camera about their intentions of showing up at the residence. The predator would then leave and be met by local law enforcement to be arrested and booked into jail for crimes such as Enticement of a Child. Hundred’s of men and women were arrested during the filming of this special and many saw prison time.
The fact is the internet has many uses with the majority of them being positive. There is nothing wrong with children using the internet, but the usage needs to be monitored for their protection. Parents must also be aware that with the technology age, numerous devices can access the internet not just home computers. These devices include cell phones, Blackberrys, Ipod Touchs and laptops. With wireless sites popping up at businesses all over, children can access the internet from just about anywhere. Internet access is not the primary concern because the internet can have a lot of usefulness. The concern is whether parents know what websites their children have accounts or access too. As parents, do we know if our child has an account with a social networking site? The question parents need to ask themselves is, “Do I know who my child has contact with on the internet?” If you answered no to one or both of those questions, it may be time to sit down with your child and talk about these things. Granted, teenagers may argue that we are prying into their business, but are we prying or being cautious. Imagine this; your child is in the front yard playing and a suspicious adult that you have never seen before approaches your child. When you walk out of the house and see this strange adult engaging in conversation, what would your reaction be? Now change the scenario, an unknown person contacts your child through a social networking site and engages in conversation. Would your reaction be the same as the strange adult in the front yard?
In this day and age, children are even more susceptible to being lured by local predators, out of state predators and even international predators. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice conducted a study concerning online victimization of youth between the ages 10 to 17 years of age. The U.S. Department of Justice surveyed 1501 juveniles in this age range and came back with staggering results. The survey came back with these results:
1 in 7 (13%) reported that they received a sexual solicitation or were approached
1 in 3 (34%) had unwanted exposure to nude photographs or pornography
1 in 11 (9%) were threatened or harassed
1 in 25 (4%) received an “aggressive” solicitation where the solicitor asked them
to meet somewhere, contacted via telephone or sent them mail, gifts or money
Also, only 4% of online offenders pretend to be kids (offenders may have lowered age, but generally represented themselves as adults)
* Source: University of New Hampshire National Juvenile On-Line Victimization Study (Finkelhor/Mitchell/Wojak)
With that being said, children from a small community can become victims of those same crimes if not worse. We have all seen Amber Alerts on the television concerning missing children; and in the back of our minds, parents believe that would never be their child. But what are we doing as parent to prevent the next Amber Alert from having our child’s name scrolled across the television screen.
With summer quickly approaching, children are going to have more time on their hands to spend on the computer while parents are at work. So now that we as parents are aware of the dangers that face our children, how do we protect them from possible danger of the internet? Here are some tips on how to protect your children from becoming a victim:
Ø As parents, learn everything you can about computers and the internet
This would include learning about computer terminology, tools (i.e. filtering software and browser settings), misuse, risks and “reliable” websites
Ø Place home computers in well traveled areas of the home and not the child’s bedroom
Ø Ensure that child does not divulge personal information on the internet
Ø Keep all membership accounts to sites under the parents name
Time is critical during any investigation of a missing child. If internet accounts are in child’s name, search warrant must be obtained to gain access to those accounts. If those accounts are in parent’s name, law enforcement can be given permission by the parent to retrieve valuable information that could assist in locating the child.
Ø Know your child’s screen names and passwords
Be sure that your child’s screen name does not provide information about his or her identity or age (Example: JohnDoe14)
Ø Communicate with your child
The most important prevention tool a parent has is communication. Try to understand your child’s needs, interests and curiosity. Set reasonable expectations for the child such as letting them know what are acceptable websites, selection and use of chat rooms, “buddies” allowed on social networking sites and time limits on computer usage. Allow your child to gain more responsibility as the child earns your trust.
These are just suggested tips that can prevent your child from becoming a victim. There could be many more methods that can be used based on your child but always remember that the most important is always communication. Parents will never be able to keep our children away from the internet completely, but it is the parent’s duty to teach your children the responsibility required during the use of the internet. With the ever changing internet, parents may never comprehend all there is to know about the internet and the many sites that can become harmful to children. But always know that there are resources out there for parents to ask questions. As Law Enforcement Officers, it is our job to arrest the bad guys; but it is also our job to answer questions the community might have and prevent crime from happening. As always, never hesitate to go to your local Law Enforcement Agency and ask questions.
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