Protecting Children on the Electronic Frontier: A Law Enforcement Challenge

• NCJ Number: 185448
• Journal: FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 69 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2000 Pages: 22-26
• Author(s): Matt Parsons
• Date Published: October 2000
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes the Safekids computer crime prevention initiative designed to provide online safety information to Navy and Marine Corps children and families living overseas who may not understand the issues, pitfalls, and dangers associated with the Internet.

Abstract

The Naval Criminal investigative Service (NCIS), which has developed the initiative, created a compact disk that contains two programs designed to prevent and deter computer crime. The first program focuses on the online safety concerns of Department of the Navy personnel and families living outside the United States; the second program educates Navy and Marine Corps leaders about the proliferation of child pornography on computer networks. The Safekids compact disk contains several programs aimed at children and their parents. A short introduction includes the theory, target, and point of the effort and operates on two main premises: families introduce computer technology into the home for the benefit of the children; and military families living outside the United States may often have schedules in which the children are left unsupervised in the home. An in-school presentation targets children in the fourth to ninth grades. It discusses ethics, personal responsibility, privacy, and other subjects that youth must know when using the Internet, including inappropriate types of communications and school violence. The program provides scenarios for what children should do if problems arise as well as resources and points of contact. Parents are instructed in warning signs that a child's Internet use is having a negative effect. Information is provided on how to contact law enforcement personnel. Parents are also instructed in the kinds of threats posed by the use of various Internet domains such as chat rooms. Child pornography and the methods of pedophiles on the Internet are discussed as well.