Keeping your children safe from crime

The purpose of this article is to address some of the key points parents need to know in order to keep their children safe. Know who can help you: When I was an officer I participated in something called "Safety Town". What they did was educated very young children (ages 4 to 5) on safety matters. My role was to visit the children while in uniform; then, the instructor and myself would educate the children on how to identify a police officer. We would point out things on my uniform like my badge, radio, big belt with all sorts of stuff and the color of my uniform. The purpose was to get the children to understand what a police officer looks like and more importantly to let them know that we are there to help them if they need help. Often times when I was on duty and having lunch in a restaurant, I would have some parent who was having a problem with their young child, say something like "If you don't sit up straight I will go tell that police officer to arrest you". Or, we would have parents bring there children into our police station and want us to threaten to arrest their child if they do not wear their seatbelt or for some other discipline problem the parent was having that day. Not only is this the wrong thing to do, but it is a very counter productive thing to do. What these parents are indirectly telling their children is, that the police are the boogey man and someone to be fearful of. The major problem with this is obvious; if something happens, the child will be afraid to seek out a police officer for help. What is a stranger: It is common for parents to tell their children the danger of going with strangers. The problem is what is a stranger. What adults view as a stranger is different then what a child may view as a stranger. Instead of addressing what a stranger is, you need to address things a stranger may do and address dangerous situations your child may have to deal with. This makes it much easier for your child to understand. Below is a list of common issues your child should be made aware of. What if an adult wants you to do something you don't want to do? First, every child should know that he or she has a right to say "No!". We have a tendency to tell children to obey adults. This makes them vulnerable to every adult. There are only certain adults they should obey. And you should tell them who they are. Teach your child to protect their personal space from unwanted intrusion. What if an adult asks you to keep a secret from your mother or your father? No adult should ask a child to keep a secret from their parents. If an adult, even someone they trust like a babysitter or a relative, ever tells them to keep a secret, they should tell you immediately. Molesters depend on the fact that a child will keep their secret. Defining a stranger Children should know that a stranger is any adult they don't know well. That doesn't mean they're bad. It just means they haven't earned your trust yet. Even someone they see every day, like a neighbor, is a stranger if they don't know them well. What if a stranger wants you to come to his car or house? If a stranger pulls over and asks for help or wants to show you something in his car, don't go to the car. Stand back and be ready to run. You should explain that while it's OK for a child to ask a grownup for help, grownups shouldn't ask children for help. They should be asking other grownups. Abductors will use many lures to draw children to them: * They ask for help, like directions for finding a pet. * They seduce children with gifts, candy, money or jobs. * They make threats. * They pretend to be authority figures, like police and clergy. * They say its an emergency. "Your parents are hurt. I'll take you to the hospital." What do you do if a stranger says he's come to pick you up? For the safety of your child, you should have a secret code word that just the family members know. If you ever send someone to pick up your child, give them the code word. Your child should not go near the car unless the stranger knows the secret word. What do you do if you think that someone is following you? Don't be alone. Immediately run to a friend's house or the nearest store and tell them. What if a stranger ever threatens you or tries to grab you? Shout "HELP" and "I don't know you" and "call 911". And get away fast. Make a big scene so people will come. Carry and use a personal attack alarm. Most abductors and molesters will run away if their victim fights and attracts attention with noise. What if you're home alone and someone calls for your mother or father? A child should never tell anyone they're home alone. Just tell them "My parents can't come to the phone right now. I'll take a message." And never open the door to any stranger. What if you get separated while you are shopping or in another public place? Whenever you go shopping, set up a meeting place. If you get separated, don't search for each other. Immediately go to the meeting place. Or ask a police officer, guard, or employee for assistance. Encourage children to walk and play together, to watch out for each other. Young children should not be out alone, especially in the evening. Explain that if they're ever lost or abducted that you will look for them until you find them. No matter what. This is critical. Most abducted children are told by the abductors that their parents don't want them anymore. If they believe it, they have no place else to go. Know the basics: Another thing that we did at "Safety Town" was to make sure the children memorized the following: * Their first and last name * Their age * Their street address * Their full telephone number with area code * Their parent's first and last name(s) This information is very important and not very hard for even a young child to remember as long as someone helps them. It would be a good idea to make it a daily practice of having your child repeat the above listed information to you on a daily basis, that way they should get it memorized pretty quickly. There are more dangers then just strangers: Another thing that was addressed in "Safety Town" was letting the children understand what dangerous things they might find and what to do. Items such as guns, knives, syringe needles etc..., which they may unfortunately find in parks or even school playgrounds. To give an example: I was dispatched to a residence where someone had overdosed on heroin. The other people that were with him got scared they would get into trouble and pulled the syringe out of his arm and threw it outside where it landed in a snowbank. We had to pull teeth to get the information out of them on what they did with the syringe. Finally, we were able to locate and recover the syringe. The snow bank where the syringe was found was located in a elementary school yard that happened to be adjacent to the apartment complex where the heroin user was found. The area where the snow bank was located was right next to a path that the kids took to go to school. Now for those of you who think this only happens in the big cities. That simply is not true, I worked for a small city which is considered a nice suburban community and for all intensive purposes it is. Just because you may not live in the big city does not mean you or your child are totally safe from crime. Yes; you are living in a safer area overall but do not ever think you are totally imune to criminal activity. This example shows how important it is that children are able to recognize these things and contact an adult about them if found, but not to touch the items themselves. A good way to get children to identify with what these objects look like, is to find photographs of these objects and explain to the child what they are and to stay away. Protecting your children from crime is done by educating them about crime. The more they know, the better off they will be, it is not different for you. If you would like to read more of my articles on crime prevention, or get more information about my book go to www.crimeawareness101.com