Never let your children go places alone, and always supervise your young children or make sure there is a trusted adult present to supervise them if you cannot. Make sure your older children always take a friend when they go anywhere.

Know where your children are and whom they are with at all times. Remind children never to take anything or respond in any way if approached by anyone they don’t know.

Teach them to run away as quickly as possible to you or another trusted adult.

Talk openly to your children about safety and encourage them to tell you or a trusted adult if anyone or anything makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. Discuss security issues with your children so they will understand the need for precautions. Advise your older children about steps they may take to help safeguard them. Know your children’s friends and their families. Pay attention to your children and listen to them. If you don’t, there’s someone else who will. And others may have ulterior motives for befriending your children.

Have a list of family members who could be contacted in case of an emergency. Designate a family member or close associate who would be able to fill the role of advisor in case of an emergency.

Be alert to and aware of your surroundings. Know the “escape routes” and plan what you would do in different emergencies. Practice “what if” scenarios, so you will be well prepared. Know the location of local hospitals and best routes to take to reach them. Know how to reach the nearest local law enforcement agency or sub-station.

Know your employees and coworkers. Do background screening and reference checks on everyone who works at your home, particularly those individuals who care for your children. Their knowledge of your family is extensive so make sure you have an equivalent understanding of them.

Consider varying your daily routines and habits. Do not take the same routes or go at the same time on your regular errands. If you take your children to school, change that route as well.

Take steps to secure personal information about yourself. Consider getting a post office box and registering everything you may receive there, including your vehicles and drivers’ licenses. Have personal bills sent to your place of work or the post office box. Be discreet about your possessions and family’s personal habits and information.

Report any suspicious persons or activities to law enforcement. If you feel anyone in your family has been targeted or is being stalked, immediately report this information to law-enforcement authorities. Do not wait.

Remember you are your best resource for better safeguarding your family. Do not become complacent about personal security issues.


Safety & Wireless Devices

Tips for safely using wireless devices.

• Set appropriate ground rules for your children’s use of wireless devices. Decide who they may communicate with and how they may use these devices.

• Monitor your wireless bill to keep track of the amount of time your children spend talking and sending messages and with whom. Pay special attention to numbers or messages from people you do not recognize or have not approved.

• Teach your children to tell you if anyone sends them a threatening or frightening message. If your children are being stalked, harassed or threatened in any way, report the incident to your service provider and local law-enforcement agency. If the material is lewd, obscene, or illegal also report it to www.cybertipline.com or 1-800-843-5678

• Remind your children text messages may be intercepted or used by others. Teach them to use appropriate language in their messages while being sure not to reveal personal or identifying information.

• Know your children’s passwords and assist them in setting up their account.

• Consider creating settings to control or prohibit access to the internet, e-mail, and text messaging through your children’s wireless device. Remember a global-positioning system (GPS) option, if offered by your service provider, could be used to help locate your children if lost.

• Monitor your children’s wireless use just as you do their online computer use. Keep the lines of communication open with your children so they will be more likely to tell you if they have concerns about someone contacting them or information they have received.
What you should teach your children.

• Never share your wireless number and personal or identifying information with anyone you don’t know well and trust and without my permission. Respect your friends’ privacy by never sharing their number or information.

• Never use your wireless device to take, send, or post pictures or video of your friends without permission from their parents or guardians. Taking or sharing embarrassing pictures of someone is a form of bullying and harassment. Once you post an image or video online you can’t get it back.

• Keep your passwords private. Never share them with anyone other than your mom/dad/other guardian.

• Never give photos of yourself to anyone you don’t know well and trust and without my permission. Never send sexually provocative pictures or messages.

• Never respond to threatening or frightening voice messages, text messages, or photos. When that happens tell me or another trusted adult, and we’ll report the incident to our service provide.

• How to block unwanted calls and text messages. Never answer calls or read messages from people you don’t know well and trust.

• Use of wireless technology doesn’t guarantee privacy. Never text with people you don’t know well and trust, and before responding think, “Is my reply hurtful or rude?”

Actions To Take If You Suspect Your Child Is At Risk

• Discuss your suspicions and the dangers of online sexual predators with your child                      
• If you have caller ID, use it to determine who is calling your child
• Monitor your child’s email
• Report the receipt of any pornography or sexual solicitations to the authorities

If you feel your child is a victim of the internet, contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200.

If you would like a crime prevention program about internet safety for a group or school, call the Crime Prevention Bureau at (813) 247-8115 OR visit: www.hcso.tampa.fl.us

Internet Safety


The following Safety Tips were offered by the Tampa Crime Prevention Bureau


Internet Safety

1. Keep your home computer in a common area – not in your child’s bedroom.

2. Supervise your child’s computer activities:

• Website visited
• Chatrooms
• Instant messages
  

3. Advise you children NEVER to give out their:

• Age, name, address, phone number
• Parent’s name or workplace
• Name of their school
• Password
  

4. Your child should be warned NEVER to:

• Agree to telephone anyone or
• Agree to meet in person or “in real life.”
  

5. Advise your child NEVER to send a picture of themselves to anyone.

Signs of risk

• Your child spends large amounts of time online advising you it’s for schoolwork.

• Your child receives lots of calls from people you don’t know.

• Your children become uneasy when you enter the room or quickly change computer screens.

• Your child receives mail, gifts, or packages from people you don’t know.

• Your children have a free website e-mail address that can be accessed from any computer without your knowledge.

Parental controls

• Never let your children have their “own” password – you must be able to check their e-mails and e-mail address book.

• Review the recycle bin.
• Review the document file.
• Review your “history” file to find out what sites your child has visited.

• Perform a “find” function on your computer to locate:

• .jpg – image files
• .mpg – movie clips
• .avi – movie clips
  

• Review your child’s diskettes – they may not be “games”. Check for hidden diskettes because subjects send images of themselves of pornography and tell children to save the images to diskettes and hide them.

Safeguards

• Talk openly to your child
• Set rules with you children for computer use.
• Limit access to the computer only when you are home.
• Some commercial online services offer “parental control features” to block area you feel are inappropriate for your children.
• Know your child’s “internet friends”
• Make sure your children’s schools have supervised internet services and an acceptable use policy.

Know the Rules….
Abduction & Kidnapping Prevention Tips

High-profile abductions, although rare occurrences, may leave families frightened and unsure about how best to protect their children. According to a study conducted by the Washington State Attorney General’s Office for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 40.3 percent of those who experienced one of the most serious forms of child abduction were victims of opportunity.

The tips noted below will help families lessen the opportunity for abduction and kidnapping and better safeguard their children.

Teach your children to run away from danger, never toward it. Danger is anyone or anything invading their personal space. If anyone should try to grab them, tell them to make a scene; loudly yell this person is not my father/mother/guardian; and make every effort to get away by kicking, screaming, and resisting. Their safety is more important than being polite. Teach your children if they are ever followed in a vehicle to turn around and run in the other direction to you or another trusted adult.

Reducing The Risks

• Use parental controls to filter what your child is allowed to access online
• Discuss with your child about not giving personal information (name, address, etc) to anyone online and never upload any photos
• Talk to your child about never meeting anyone in person that they have met online without the parents knowledge
• Do not allow your child to have the computer in his/her bedroom, have it located in a common area of your home
• Explain to your child about what to do if they receive email or instant messages that make them feel uncomfortable or scared.
• If you suspect someone of sexual exploitation, report it to local law enforcement immediately

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