By Lisa Davis
Carson City Sheriff’s Office has joined the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to participate in the Take 25 national child safety campaign which takes place during the month of May.
Sheriff Ken Furlong will host a Take 25 outreach project at Cops and Kids Sheriff’s Open House and Safety Fair on May 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Carson City Sheriff’s Office. Safety materials — printed in English and Spanish child identification kits will be available for parents to help them Take 25 minutes to have a dialogue about safety issues at home, on the Internet, and out in the community.
“It is important that we grasp every opportunity to enhance the safety of our children," said Sheriff Furlong. "Throughout their lives, they will face many challenges. Many of the challenges will present the child at great risk to harm. Fortunately, Take 25 will allow many children to learn important precautionary measures that will enhance their welfare and may one day save a life.”
May 25 has been observed as National Missing Children’s Day since it was first proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. The Take 25 campaign will help parents and others teach children to be alert to potential threats and provide simple preventative steps that children can take to stay safe.
“One of the issues that we see is that many children do not know their address, telephone numbers and full name of their parents or guardians," said DARE officer Lisa Davis. "Children should know their parent’s names and how to reach them at work or on their cell phones. They also need to know to call a trusted adult or 911 in case of an emergency.” Additional safety tips that parents can share with their child include:
Take a walking tour of the neighborhood and tell them which homes they may visit without a parent.
Teach them to ask before leaving home and to stay with a friend whenever they’re playing outside or going anywhere. In DARE, we teach a skill known as “Strength in Numbers” or the “Buddy System” which helps youth to be safe and to help them make wise, healthy choices to stay out of trouble.
Learn about the Internet and become better prepared to teach children about potential risks. Visit www.NetSmartz.org to learn more.
NCMEC launched the campaign to encourage families to take 25 minutes to talk to their children about ways to stay safer. A website for the campaign, www.Take25.org, lists 25 safety tips that can help save a child’s life. The campaign begins May 1 and continues through National Missing Children’s Day on May 25. Nationwide, more than 1100 events are scheduled in over 400 communities and in 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia.
Every year in America, an estimated 800,000 children are reported missing, more than 2,200 children each day. Of that number, 200,000 are abducted by family members and 58,000 are abducted by non-family members. Each year, 115 children are the victims of the most serious long-term abductions that people consider “stereotypical kidnappings.” NCMEC found that in 56 percent of the cases, the child escaped would-be abductors by yelling, kicking, pulling away, running away or attracting attention.
“We know teaching children about safety works. Children’s actions enable them to escape attempted abductions more than half of the time. It is important that parents and others take the time to talk to their children about these issues,” said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC.
Carson City Sheriff’s Office invites every parent to become a partner in teaching children about safety and join us as we all join “Take 25.”