Campaign Targets Potential Online Predators
The US Department of Justice yesterday unveiled an innovative national public service announcement (PSA) campaign to educate parents about the potential dangers that their children face online and, for the first time, warns potential online predators that exploiting a child online is a serious federal offense, according to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police.
The four new PSAs were developed jointly by the US Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and Project Safe Childhood partners INOBTR (”I Know Better”), iKeepSafe and the Hispanic Communications Network.
“One of our highest priorities at the Department of Justice is combating the sexual exploitation of children,” said OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores. “Our message to parents is — know where your kids go on the Internet, and to would-be predators we say — your illegal activity will have lifelong consequences.”
iKeepSafe developed one of the PSAs, entitled “Know Where They Go,” to highlight the risks children face on the Internet. The PSA, illustrates how, in the digital world, children can travel anywhere, and why it is important that parents monitor what sites their children visit and who they are talking to. Elements of this campaign include television, print, radio and Web advertisements. For more on this PSA, please go to www.KnowWhereTheyGo.org.
INOBTR created a PSA entitled “Exploiting a Minor Is a Major Offense.” This cutting-edge campaign is designed to warn potential online predators that exploiting a child online is a serious federal offense. Elements of this campaign include television, movie theaters, print, radio and Web banners. For more on this PSA, please go to www.stopanonlinepredator.org.
The Hispanic Communications Network (HCN) produced two separate series of Spanish-language PSAs for television, radio, print and the Web. The first targets parents, while the second targets potential predators. The potential predator PSA seeks to inform low-level offenders or individuals looking for child pornography images online or attempting communication with minors that law enforcement is actively pursuing them, and that their illegal activity could have lifetime consequences. Like the INOBTR ad, it gives a compelling message to stop and think about the consequences of this serious federal crime. The Spanish-language ads can be found on www.ProtegelosAhora.org for the parent campaign and www.NoTeArruines.org for the potential predator campaign. In addition, HCN produced an English-language short video for online distribution. The video, or Webisode, illustrates the dangers children face online and urges parents to become informed and involved, and to supervise their children’s Internet and mobile phone activity.
Launched in May 2006, Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department’s Criminal Division, and Internet Crimes Against Children task forces, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood and the public service announcements, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he’s a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he’s the new editor for the House Conservatives Fund’s weblog. Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He’s former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed “Crack City” by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He’s also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He’s a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com and PHXnews.com. He’s also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he’s syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He’s appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com. Kouri’s own website is located at http://jimkouri.us
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he's the former editor for the House Conservatives Fund's weblog. Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com and PHXnews.com. He's also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. To subscribe to Kouri's newsletter write to COPmagazine@aol.com and write "Subscription" on the subject line. | More from Jim Kouri, CPP
Stumble It!
November 14th, 2008 at 3:35 am
But, aren’t almost all abductions of children by adults done by people they already know – and don’t have to meet on the internet?
Yes.
And aren’t most of those people relatives – against whom no steps can really be taken without some proof in advance?
Yes.
And aren’t most of those relatives fathers or mothers?
Yes.
So, the number of children at risk is far, far smaller than represented by those asking for:
1. power
2. money
3. the cloak of righteous indignation (”everything we do is holy – it’s for the children”)
If this is the only thing that will prevent your little girl from leaving home to have sex with a man she met in a chat room, she’ll be pregnant by the boy down the street soon enough in any case. The internet isn’t your problem – you’re the problem.
Just what the federal budget needs: yet another giant bureaucracy that shares fields of interest and authority (but not records or information) with the other 20 agencies that already oversee this (badly).
Will they bypass Federal law (which prohibits investigating Americans who have done nothing wrong), and use ChoicePoint to “data mine” everyone’s Google, Facebook and My Space records to profile anyone who might be a child molester? Of course.
Will they jump to conclusions (”you didn’t give your real name, and you’re older than you said – therefore you’re a pedophile”)? Of course.
Will those records contain huge errors, mistaken identity, etc. (everyone with the same name is the same person regardless of date of birth, residence etc.)? Of course.
But since since Choicepoint is an NGO, FOIL doesn’t apply, and since the work itself is “highly sensitive” (much like the no-fly list) you can’t discover or correct the data. And since the new agencies don’t “have” (only solicit, manage, screen, pay for and use) the data, they cannot be forced to correct it either.
Result: among the child molesters will be 90 year old women in wheelchairs, infants under 1 year old, dead people, fictional people, every single person named John Smith, and members of Congress – just like the no-fly list has now.
George Orwell is spinning in his grave.