NCJ Number
93126
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 53 Issue: 2 Dated: (February 1984) Pages: 10-14
Date Published
1984
Length
5 pages
Annotation
To prepare children to protect themselves from molestations and kidnapings, the American Fork Police Department (Utah) has undertaken a crime prevention program with the following phases: parent education, the development of a 'safe house' system, child education, and program maintenance.
Abstract
In the parent-education phase, the police department works through the city's Parent/Teacher Association to conduct public seminars on self-protection for children. Parents are taught to instruct children in self-protection, including physical resistance. This first phase also covers family code words to alert children to get help, home security, safe methods for answering the door and telephone, street safety, and various rules for children and babysitters to follow. Related juvenile problems, such as drug abuse, vandalism, and teenage sex offenses are discussed, and free fingerprint services for children are offered to use in case of a kidnaping. In the second phase of the program, the development of a 'safe house' system, the police work through the State Crime Prevention Council to provide for the selection of volunteer families to prominently display the safe house sticker at their homes so that children in danger away from their own homes know where to seek protection and help. The third phase, child education, involves uniformed officers meeting with children in elementary schools to present films and engage in discussion about how children can protect themselves against victimization. In the program's fourth phase, program maintenance, police officers meet annually with incoming elementary students to inform them about the function of the police department, the use of safe houses, and various self-protection principles. The department also encourages parents to reinforce the information presented at school through home education.