7 SMART HALLOWEEN SAFETY TIPS - CHILD RESCUE COALITION

 

7 SMART HALLOWEEN SAFETY TIPS

When the seasons change and the pumpkins appear, it can only mean one thing, Halloween. It’s kids’ favorite night of the year! Costumes and masks, candy and more candy, and late nights trick-or-treating. But that also means more people lurking in the streets and online looking to see where children may be.

So before the sun goes down on October 31st, make sure to read these Seven Halloween Safety Tips, and plan ahead for a safe and fun-filled evening.

7 SMART HALLOWEEN SAFETY TIPS

1. Use Apps for Safety: Apps such as Red Panic Button and AT&T’s FamilyMap provide ways to quickly locate your child in case of an emergency. Also Life 360 may be the most popular app to track children, and allows you on nights like Halloween to invite a circle of friends to track as well.
2. GPS Tracking Device – If your kids don’t have phones, Safewise has a great list of GPS tracking devices that can be used for your kids. These will give older kids and tweens more independence but give parents more security of their well-being.
3. Use a Sex Offender Search App: Family Watchdog is a free website service to help locate registered sex offenders in your area. Or you can activate your smartphone’s GPS and connect to the National Sex Offender Registry to locate registered sex offenders and predators in the area. You can search by name, address, and zip code, and results will be displayed on an interactive map. The app is free and easy to share with fellow parents to ensure your child’s trick-or-treat route is safe.
4. Establish Boundaries: Mobile navigation tools can assist parents and kids in creating routes to follow and others to avoid. You can also use the Next Door app to create a neighborhood watch. Also, remind your child to only trick-or-treat at well-lit houses, and to remain on the porch within street view at all times.
5. Create Lines of Communication: Save ICE (In Case of Emergency) numbers in your child’s speed dial. Include your number, a neighbor’s and/or a grandparent’s. Also, be sure your child knows how to dial 911 and can provide important information such as street, location, and landmarks.
6. Use Reflective Materials: Have your child wear or carry something that glows in the dark. You might choose a glowing necklace, a glow-in-the-dark treat bag, or a flashlight. You can even put reflective tape on a costume.
7. Don’t Go Anywhere with Strangers – Teach your children never to enter a stranger’s home or car, even if they have a cool haunted house they want to show you. Stay outside unless a responsible adult is with you.

Halloween is a night that celebrates all that’s scary but we don’t want to frighten our kids away from having fun. By implementing some smart safety strategies and providing awareness, all kids and parents can have a safe and fun Halloween!

For more information on Child Rescue Coalition and how to keep kids safe online, visit www.childrescuecoalition.org. And read more posts like this on our education page!

Don’t forget you can like us on Facebook and Instagram for more helpful online safety tips!

FBI - 84 Minors, 141 Adults Rescued In National Sex Trafficking Operation

 

By Chris Williams

WASHINGTON - More than 80 children were identified and located in a national sex trafficking ring this month in "Operation Cross Country," the FBI announced Monday. 

The agency said the 84 minors were victims of child sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation and 37 of them were actively missing children. The average age of the victim was 15.5 years old with the youngest being 11, according to agents. 

Investigators also located 141 adult victims of human trafficking. 

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, authorities identified or arrested 85 suspects accused of child sexual exploitation and human trafficking offenses. 

Human trafficking is among the most heinous crimes the FBI encounters," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a news release. "Unfortunately, such crimes—against both adults and children—are far more common than most people realize. As we did in this operation, the FBI and our partners will continue to find and arrest traffickers, identify and help victims, and raise awareness of the exploitation our most vulnerable populations."

"The Justice Department is committed to doing everything in our power to combat the insidious crimes of human trafficking that devastate survivors and their families," Attorney General Merrick Garland added. 

Operation Cross Country XII

The FBI said Operation Cross Country XII involved FBI special agents, intelligence analysts, victim specialists, and child adolescent forensic Interviewers. They worked in conjunction with 200 state, local, and federal partners and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to conduct 391 operations over a two-week period.

"The success of Operation Cross County reinforces what NCMEC sees every day. Children are being bought and sold for sex in communities across the country by traffickers, gangs and even family members," offered Michelle DeLaune, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

The 2021 Federal Human Trafficking Report released in June showed that more than half of all trafficking victims in the U.S. were minors in federal prosecutions last year.

Of the nearly 450 human trafficking victims involved in new U.S. criminal cases in 2021, 57% were minors, according to the report from the Human Trafficking Institute (HTI).

Texas, Florida and Georgia charged the most criminal human trafficking suspects last year. Districts that charged the most defendants accused of trafficking minors for sex in 2021 were, in order: southern Texas, South Carolina, southern Florida, eastern New York, southern Illinois, middle Florida, eastern Arkansas, eastern Texas, Nebraska, eastern Michigan and northern Illinois.

Since 2000, 55% of sex trafficking victims have been recruited online, typically through social media platforms, online chat rooms, messaging apps, dating apps or advertisements, the human trafficking research organization said in its report.

Trinity Mount Ministries - FBI - Benefits of a Youth Leadership Academy

 Benefits of a Youth Leadership Academy

By Rex Sorrow

Most agencies, including my own, have seen a steady decrease in law enforcement applicants over the last several years. What if you could change this statistic by hiring young adults from the community who have already invested time in your agency? What if they praised your department for teaching them valuable lessons they can take into adulthood? It may seem like an overwhelming task at first, but organizing a youth leadership academy can help with hiring and more for years to come.

Of course, incorporating a youth leadership academy will not staff an entire agency because results take time, but it can benefit a department beyond recruiting. Such a program will allow agencies to see an increase in young people understanding what officers experience daily and the reasons behind their split-second decision-making.

Actual events of an incident are often misconstrued, either because of social media or insufficient or inaccurate facts, so it is important for the public to understand the difference between perception and reality in law enforcement. Increasing awareness will also help build stronger community support and bridge the gap between law enforcement and youth.

Cullman County, Alabama, Sheriff Matt Gentry believes youths are our most precious asset. He believes in investing time in children because they will become our community’s future officers, attorneys, doctors, nurses, teachers, and judges. In 2015, Sheriff Gentry tasked me with organizing a youth leadership academy to provide teenagers an understanding of the importance of leadership, patriotism, respect, and decision-making based upon his guiding principles of honor, courage, and integrity.

Lieutenant Sorrow serves with the Cullman County, Alabama, Sheriff’s Office and is a graduate of FBI National Academy Session 280.

I met with two Cullman County Board of Education career coaches to discuss ideas, student itineraries, potential issues, and requirements for the academy. In 2016, with help from a deputy and investigator at our department, we offered the first Cullman County Sheriff’s Youth Leadership Academy. Twelve students enrolled in the class, and since then, the program has grown significantly, with a record attendance of 44 in 2019.

Requirements

Each youth leadership academy student is between 16 and 18 years old and has a form of dependable and insured transportation to move freely between the program’s events and activities.

All students must read the classic Civil War novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara and submit a book report about the leadership styles presented.1

Itinerary

Cullman County’s summer weeklong youth academy consists of various leadership and team-building activities and events.

• Physical training (e.g., rock wall climbing, rappelling, self-defense classes, zip lining)
• Hands-on training (e.g., fingerprinting, crime scene reconstruction, shoot-no shoot scenarios)
• Classroom training (e.g., leadership etiquette, American flag history, death investigation)
• Team competitions (e.g., paintball battles, ropes courses, gladiator pit)
• SWAT, K-9, and live fire range demonstrations
• Guest speakers
• Tours of the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office and local jail

Incentives

Youth leadership academy students experience team-building skills while overcoming their fears in the face of diversity. They learn how the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office strives to provide efficient and professional law enforcement while serving its citizens. Students also learn the importance of taking pride in their homes, family, and community.2

Each student receives a course manual, two T-shirts, an identification card, and daily free lunches.

The program is free, and all graduates receive a certificate of completion, 40 hours of community service credit, and the opportunity to do a ride-along with a deputy.

“Youth leadership academy students experience team-building skills while overcoming their fears in the face of diversity.”

Conclusion

Since the program’s inception, the Cullman County Sheriff’s Youth Leadership Academy has led to three new hires for our department: two dispatchers (recently promoted to shift supervisors) and one detention deputy who works in the jail and plans to attend the next law enforcement academy to become a state-certified patrol deputy.

The benefits far outweigh the costs of a youth leadership academy. It can help with recruiting, raising awareness, and strengthening community relationships. The requirements, itinerary, and incentives for Cullman County’s academy outlined in this article have proven successful for our department and community, but to reap the same benefits, another agency may need to  structure its program differently according to its size, resources, and/or needs.

For more information on developing a youth leadership academy, please contact Lieutenant Sorrow at rsorrow@cullmansheriff.org to discuss how this program can work for your agency.

Endnotes

1 Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels (New York: McKay, 1974).
2 Cullman County Sheriff’s Office, “Sheriff’s Youth Leadership Academy,” accessed June 27, 2022, https://cullmansheriff.org/sheriffs-youth-leadership-academy/.

Trinity Mount Ministries - CyberTipline - NCMEC - REPORT ABUSE! 1-800-843-5678

Help Find Missing Children. Let's Put An End To Child Abuse And Exploitation... Care.

OverviewWhat Happens to a Tip?Is Your Image Out There?By the NumbersMore

Overview

NCMEC’s CyberTipline is the nation’s centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children. The public and electronic service providers can make reports of suspected online enticement of children for sexual acts, child sexual molestation, child sexual abuse material, child sex tourism, child sex trafficking, unsolicited obscene materials sent to a child, misleading domain names, and misleading words or digital images on the internet.

What Happens to Information in a CyberTip?

NCMEC staff review each tip and work to find a potential location for the incident reported so that it may be made available to the appropriate law-enforcement agency for possible investigation. We also use the information from our CyberTipline reports to help shape our prevention and safety messages.

Is Your Image Out There?

Get Support

One of the worst things about having an explicit image online is feeling like you’re facing everything alone. But you have people who care for you and want to help. Reach out to them!

A trusted adult can offer advice, help you report, and help you deal with other issues. It could be your mom, dad, an aunt, a school counselor, or anyone you trust and are comfortable talking to. You can also “self report” by making a report on your own to the CyberTipline.

Families of exploited children often feel alone in their struggle and overwhelmed by the issues affecting their lives. NCMEC provides assistance and support to victims and families such as crisis intervention and local counseling referrals to appropriate professionals. Additionally, NCMEC’s Team HOPE is a volunteer program that connects families to others who have experienced the crisis of a sexually exploited child.

Don't Give Up

Having a sexual exploitative image of yourself exposed online is a scary experience. It can make you feel vulnerable and isolated, but remember, others have been in the same situation as you – and they’ve overcome it. Learn the steps you can take to limit the spread of the content.

By the Numbers

Total Reports

In 2021, reports to the CyberTipline increased by 35% from 2020.

NCMEC alerted law enforcement to over 4,260 potential new child victims. 

Find more data in the CyberTipline Report.

More

Learn more about online exploitation and safety.

Coping with Child Sexual Abuse (CSAM) Exposure For Families

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Production and Active Trading of Child Sexual Exploitation Images Depicting Identified Victims

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Trends Identified in CyberTipline Sextortion Reports

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The Online Enticement of Children: An In-Depth Analysis of CyberTipline Reports

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How NCMEC is responding to the ever-changing threats to children online.

How to Promote the CyberTipline on Your Website

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