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YOU can help fight crime on
line. It takes all of us, to at the very least, decrease the crimes that
are being commit on line. None of us can do it by ourselves. There are
many things that as concerned citizens we can do to help. Some of these
things include:
(1) Become Informed -
Learn how these crimes are commit and learn how to protect yourselves,
then teach your children.
(2) Report any suspicious activity to the
proper authorities. If you are in doubt as to whether or not a crime is
being commit, contact your local law enforcement and they will give you
that information, and if needed, direct you to the proper
authorities.
(3) Monitor your children. They are vulnerable to
those on line who want to take advantage of them. Learn about the
different ways these on line criminals teach the kids to hide things from
their parents. There are many ways. Become familiar with them and watch
for them.
(4) Contact your state legislators to have laws passed
that are needed. We need GOOD law......if our laws are not well defined,
they are useless and will only fail when tested in court.
(5)
Report all illegal activity to the service provider.
(6) Teach
about on line crime/safety at the schools to the students as well as to
the parents and staff. I am involved in doing this and the schools are
very interested in having persons who are knowledgeable in this area,
coming in to speak.
(7) If you see someone posting personal
information about themselves on the bulletin boards, email them and inform
them as to how they are putting themselves at risk. Many individuals are
still not aware that these crimes exist on line.
These are just some of the things we can do. As technology continues to
advance, we will continue to see an escalation in on line crimes, and many
of these crimes will be against children. There are those who feel that it
is not their responsibility to protect the children of others. I disagree.
I feel we are ALL responsible for the safety of the children who may be in
harms way. Parents should be the main protector, but sadly many times
that's just not the case, either because they themselves are not informed,
or they just don't care. Some parents see the computer as a baby sitter
for their kids and never take the time to monitor what they are doing.
Pedophiles #1 victims are kids who come from one parent families, loners,
latch key kids, and teens that are going through the defiant stage in
their lives, simply because they are more vulnerable. We all need to watch
out for each other as well as each others children if we feel they are in
harms way.
It isn't an "impossible dream".........we CAN make a
difference if we all work together. Do whatever you can, no matter how
little it may be, to help another child from becoming a victim of a
pedophile, or another individual from becoming stalked or ripped off.
These crimes on line are just as real as "on the streets". The victims
suffer just as much from these actions and sometimes more then if they
were victimized offline, simply because these crimes are harder to
prosecute and many times the victims feel helpless and don't know where to
begin to seek help.
One more point I would like to mention. Just
because you yourself have never been a victim of on line crime, or aren't
aware of anyone who has, please don't for one minute feel that these
crimes don't exist. They do. I know...I work with them. And remember, you
only hear about a handful through the media. There are MANY more that are
not reported through the media. And while I feel the majority of
individuals who utilize the on line services are the "good guys",
statistics aren't going to matter if you or a loved one becomes a victim
of one of the minority.
If ever you or someone you know is being
victimized and don't know what to do or where to turn, contact me...I will
do my best to direct you to the appropriate person(s). Let's make the
on line services/internet a safe place for us all...apathy will only help
to increase crime.....
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