RICHMOND, Ky. (WKYT) – Kentucky State Police and the Richmond Police Department are teaming up to keep kids safe online. They are working to educate parents on how to protect their children from predators.
Suzanne Howell is the Victim Services Community Outreach Coordinator for the Richmond Police Department. She said online crimes against children were increasing.
“This is a trend and I don’t think it’s going to stop or go down,” Howell said.
Howell said the department hopes to educate parents and reduce the number of crimes.
“We’re hosting an internet safety forum for parents and trying to give them some advice on how to protect their children when they’re online and how to understand what their children are doing,” Howell said.
Parents will learn from Richmond Police detectives and officers from the KSP Electronic Crimes Unit. They will learn about social media platforms, the tactics often used by scammers and predators, and how children can safely use social media and other internet-based services.
“We’re not just telling them things are bad out there, but we’re giving them tools to take home that they can hopefully use to keep their children safe,” Howell said.
Prizes will be awarded at the forum, including subscriptions to “Bark,” an online safety service that allows parents and guardians to monitor their children’s behavior online.
One of the most important things Howell advises parents is to keep open lines of communication with their children.
“We had a really bad case and I honestly think it would have turned into a real tragedy if this little girl hadn’t realized she was really in too deep and been able to talk to her parents and then they To be able to talk to us,” Howell said.
She says you should also remind your children to never give out personal information online and to know who they are interacting with.
“The fact that the 13-year-old you’re talking to is actually a man in his 50s is dangerous. So I think parents have to be very careful about how much time they let their kids online and what their kids are doing online,” Howe I said.
The forum will be held on Tuesday, April 9 at 6 p.m. at the Madison County Public Library’s Richmond Branch. The event is free to attend. For adults only, but child care will be provided.
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