Protecting Children From Predators

Tuesday, September 25th 2007, 5:50 pm

By: News On 6

The community is helping in an effort to find a child rapist. Broken Arrow detectives are following leads in the kidnapping and rape of a 5-year-old girl, last week. Nobody wants to think this kind of thing could happen to their children, but The News On 6â€™s Steve Berg reports police say that's exactly how you have to think. Tulsa Police Captain Tracy Crocker specializes in child safety seminars. And with recent events, we thought it would be a good idea to ask her for a refresher course.

"You just can't get sucked into that, it doesn't happen to me, it doesn't happen in my neighborhood, it doesn't happen around here,â€ said Tulsa Police Captain Tracie Crocker. â€œBecause there are predators everywhere."

When it comes to instilling the right mindset with parents, Captain Tracie Crocker likes to use the gold bar analogy.

"Would you leave a bar of gold in the front yard by itself while you went inside? Absolutely not, because why? Someone might take it,â€ Captain Crocker said. â€œWell you know what, someone might take your child, but people have a hard time really grasping that, they don't want to believe it."

As for the kids, Captain Crocker says they don't preach stranger danger anymore, because many children are victimized by people they know, and because predators don't usually fit the boogeyman stereotype. She says warnings should be clear and consistent, but not too specific. For example, she says warning your kids not to talk to someone who says he lost his puppy might not work if the man says he lost his cat.

"And kids take people so literal, they'll say to themselves, well gee she didn't say anything about a kitty, she said about a puppy, so I can go with this one," Tracy Crocker said.

A better warning she says is don't talk to anyone in a car or in the street. She also says to update your warnings to your children every six months or so, because she says they can handle more information as they get older.

One more good tool that safety experts are recommending, have a code word that you share with your kids. That way if you ever have to send someone to pick up your child they will know to ask that person for the code word.

Watch the video: Keeping Your Kids Safe From Child Predators