Dear conshyboy-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question.
I?ve spent that past 20+ years in law enforcement and I?ve seen these
changing trends that you speak of. Unfortunately as time goes by and
more children are abducted we learn from these tragedies. However,
because those determined to abduct children are also adapting in kind,
the process of preventing child abductions is an ever-changing
challenge.
One of the things that has changed in the last 20 years with regard to
child abductions is that we now know that there is no foolproof way to
identify a potential kidnapper. As horrible as it sounds a kidnapper
can come in the form of a trusted friend, neighbor, relative or a
person from any walk of life, both professional and non-professional,
male or female, of any age or race.
Some of the things we should teach our children have not changed a
great deal. Here are some things from my own experience that would
have helped keep a child from being abducted had they been observed.
We should teach our children to:
Always to take the same-and safest-route to and from school each day
Use the "buddy" system. Always to be with a friend when they play, go
to a store or movie-and not to go off alone
Do not to let strangers touch them; do not to accept money or candy from strangers
Never go along with or accept rides from someone they do not know
Scream for help if a stranger tries to take them by force. A child
yelling, ?Help!? may get the attention of others, but some suggest
that a child should yell ?Fire!? or ?Stranger!? repeatedly which
almost always gets people?s attention.
If a stranger tried to abduct them in a public place like a mall or
department store, GO LIMP AND FALL TO THE FLOOR. A kidnapper?s success
in a public place depends on two things: either gaining the child?s
trust or cooperation or by forcing the child to cooperate through fear
or coercion. If the child does not walk quietly with the offender, a
kidnapper usually won?t pick the child up unless he is close to a car
or secluded place. He?ll simply leave without them in search of
someone easier to handle.
If they are walking home or to their car (we often forget about young
teens who have cars ? and they are targets too) always keep keys in
their hand. We used to tell victims use their keys as weapons if they
had to but this proved impractical. Now we are telling people
(children, teens and adults alike) that if they are abducted to THROW
their keys or their purse as far away as possible. This does two
things: It provides evidence of abduction and, without keys, it
prevents the abductor from using the victim?s house or car as an
immediate means of committing the crime or escaping with them. Most of
the time kidnappers ?plan? their crimes carefully. They are focused on
the abduction and normally won?t risk taking the time to go search for
the thrown keys. Many times if the kidnapper is depending on using the
house or car as a tool to commit the crime this act will foil their
plans completely.
Report any unusual or scary incidents to parents or teachers
Teach even young children how to use the telephone if they need help.
(Do they know their own number, their full name and where they live?)
This site is a very good source for information that will help a
parent teach their children what they should know about abductions:
SAFETY TIPS FOR CHILDREN
http://www.find-missing-children.com/safetytipsforchildrenbrochure.htm
As for technology, most people are aware of the AMBER ALERT programs.
These are systematic public broadcast announcements aimed at enlisting
the aid of the public in the event that a child goes missing. The
Amber Alert was named after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman who was abducted
in 1996 but came to be an acronym for America?s Missing: Broadcast
Emergency Response:
AMBER ALERT NOW
http://www.amberalertnow.org/aboutamber.html
Another fantastic innovation that is gaining popularity is REVERSE 911
which provides a means by which the authorities can call entire
segments of the community an make local announcements via recorded
message on the telephone regarding missing children, abductions or
indeed any other crime, disaster or threatening weather condition:
REVERSE 911
http://www.r911.com/
Here are some examples of successfully deployed Reverse 911 incidents:
REVERSE 911® DOES THE JOB
Missing Child Found in 30 Minutes
http://www.r911.com/article_pointc.html
3-YEAR-OLD WANDERS AWAY, REVERSE 911® SAVES THE DAY
http://www.r911.com/article_pointp.html
Another lesser-known technology is the GPS WATCH, a device worn by a
child that can be pinpointed using a global positioning satellite.
GPS CHILD LOCATOR WATCH
http://www.gpschildlocatorwatch.com/
Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
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to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
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future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher
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Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
16 Mar 2004 14:12 PST
No problem...
Teach very young children their name and phone number and how to use
911. Explain to them that if they are abducted that a 911 call can
bring them home.
Parents should teach young children THEIR names, occupations and where they work.
Teach older children how to make long distance phone calls or how to
ask the operator for help in making a call.
Teach young children to scream and yell "This is not my mommy or
daddy" or ?I don?t know this person? if a stranger attempts to force
them to do something.
Teach your older children and teens to leave evidence such as hair or
saliva in a car or building if they have been forced into one. The can
do this by simply running their fingers through their hair or casually
scratching their head. They can casually cough into their hand, lick
their palm, and then wipe their hand on the seat or car door panels
(places in cars most commonly examined by police for DNA and other
trace evidence) or simply spit in the car if they are certain no one
is watching. Any other method of leaving evidence behind that you can
think of that your child would understand should also be discussed
(ie. urinating in the car/house, throwing up in the car/house, blowing
their nose or wiping tears on a tissue and dropping it in the
car/house, leaving a watch, a toy, a hair barrette or a shoe in the
car/house, etc).
If the abductor has physical control over the child but has not yet
forced them into a car or house the child should do whatever is
necessary to avoid being abducted. Many times an abductor will just
physically grab a child without warning and occasionally they will
claim to have a weapon but not actually produce one. If they don?t
actually SEE a weapon they should kick, fight, bite, scratch, and pull
the abductor?s hair, scream, or even vomit if they can (vomit, urine
or feces can be especially effective defensive tools against some
people). It is of the utmost importance in those first few moments to
resist being put in a car or taken into a building if they can.
Anything they can do to draw attention or make the abductor release
them they should do.
Teach your children to immediately scratch an abductor?s face, neck,
arms and hands in those first few seconds of being physically
attacked, grabbed or forced. Why? Obviously it may make the
perpetrator turn them loose, but if not, once they are recovered
(safely or otherwise) they will have evidence under their nails that
can sometimes identify an attacker.
Once inside the car or building with the abductor a perpetrator will
almost always command them to sit quietly and not to move. Teach your
children that they do not have to obey this order even if this person
?is? an adult, especially if an opportunity to flee arises. It?s a
horrible thought, but statistically, if the perpetrator is bent on
killing the child, what they do at this point probably won?t change
anything, but it probably won?t get them killed any faster either.
Make use of the opportunity ? someone may see them or hear them, or if
the abductor is inexperienced, he may become alarmed and simply drop
the child off and run away.
Teach the child to NEVER eat or drink anything the perpetrator gives them ? EVER.
Show the child a corkscrew and explain to them how it works. Tell them
that by doing this same thing with their body they become very
difficult to hold if someone is trying to carry them. Practice ?the
corkscrew? maneuver with them to help them build confidence.
Teach children to try and remember all that they can about what they
see. (Physical descriptions, places, sounds, smells, voices,
conversations, approximate travel time to and from locations, etc.)
Here is a document that talks about educational programs some law
enforcement agencies are sponsoring targeting children who find
themselves in immediate post-abduction situations:
STAY ALERT?STAY SAFE
http://www.sass.ca/resource/respolie.pdf
I hope this helps;
Tutuzdad-ga
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