However, as with anything, where there is good, there is bad. Internet safety has become one of the main concerns of parents around the world. The Internet is here to stay. Although many parents would rather just remove all Internet access from their homes in hopes of keeping their kids safe – it is not the answer. Kids have access to the Internet through game systems, friends, Internet cafes, libraries, schools and cell phones, so forget about the idea of avoidance. It won’t work.  

Supervision with knowledge is the key to safety in cyberspace– parental knowledge that is.  Let’s start with the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web. Although most people refer to the World Wide Web as the "Internet or Net" they are actually two different things. The Internet was invented by the United States Department of Defense in 1969 for military use to assist in communication between bases. The Internet refers to a worldwide network of interconnected computers.

These computers all use a common code to talk to each other. The World Wide Web (www) refers to all of the publicly available web sites and other information sources in the world such as newsgroups. The www was invented in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee in Switzerland. Most message boards and chat rooms are parts of websites that are shared over the Internet. There are currently over 43 Million registered web sites on the Internet.

So what does this have to do with your child’s safety? Everything. Because the Internet is a network of interconnected computers, anyone, anywhere with access can potentially reach your child. Some with good intentions, others more deviant. Understanding that there are risks both inside your home as well as outside should be the first step you take in increasing your child’s online safety. Does your child use the Internet outside of your home? Don’t know? Today is the day to ask. Find out where they are gaining access and what they are doing online when they are not home and under your supervision. You may be surprised at what you learn……

But instead, these sites actually foster a global community of pedophiles.  The perceived anonymity of the Internet attracts otherwise closet pedophiles, and connects them with other like-minded people.  Through their chatting, they gain a sense of legitimacy, a place to express and develop their fantasies, and ban together to help expose police undercover operations.  That is all bad.

Here’s what makes them tick.  Pedophiles share a number of common behaviors (Eleven ways to spot a Pedophile) but one common thread. They truly believe that children can consensually enter into a sexual and loving relationship with an adult. They believe that there are two kinds of pedophiles, the ones that seek out children to satisfy themselves (bad ones), and then the “loving” ones that enter into sexual relationships with kids that they love (good ones). 

This “love” is equal to a regular adult sexual / partner relationship.  What it really is, is an abuser and a child victim, who often has been groomed into participating in the activities.  It is not by consent, it is sexual abuse of children, both morally, socially and illegally wrong.

Ah…the Internet.  With all the potential good it has, why is it constantly used for the wrong reasons?

You see a group of youths hanging around the mall parking lot, smoking and leaning against cars. Is it a gang, or a just group of kids who might cause some trouble if provoked?

There is a distinct difference between a gang and a friendship group, and ways you can tell them apart.

Gangs are:

A gang is a group of three or more people who share an identifiable feature and are involved in criminal or anti-social behavior.

If you have a group of five kids who are harassing others, stealing cars, or committing crimes, but they do not have an identifiable feature, they are not technically an organized gang. 

A gang uses some physical marker (usually an item of clothing, or a symbol on their clothing) to let others know they are part of a gang and to identify other members easily.

Friendship groups are:

A friendship group has a lot of movement in and out of the group. Kids will easily come and go from time to time.

There may be three or four close friends who form the core of the group, but a new friend or girlfriend may be brought into the group, then later leave.

A friendship group can commit crime and behave anti-socially, but there is an ebb and flow of people coming and going. Their motivation is friendship and peer acceptance.

Friendship groups are obvious in schools because of their physical positioning. A friendship group will stand in a circle facing each other. They are focused on the group, on each other, and not interested in outside influences.

A gang does not work that way.

They are a solid group with rituals, initiations, and rules. It can be difficult to get into a gang, and difficult to leave.

Gangs are motivated by common goals, which may be drugs, money, or simply power. The physical positioning of a gang is much different than a friendship group.

Gang members will stand with their backs together, looking out. They are looking for potential targets or threats, and protecting their group.

An established youth gang is not always searching for recruits; in fact, it is usually the other way around. The gang provides the social environment and sense of belong the new recruit is looking for.

To protect your child, you need to look at him or her from within: are they searching for belonging?

Do they feel they are missing something in their lives? Invest time in your kids to identify these needs and try to fill them before outside influences, the kind that are negative and potentially deadly, step in to take up the slack.

Children are much different from adults in the way they absorb, value, and retain information. Adults have learned not to believe everything we hear. We will often devote more attention to valid information and discard misleading information quickly. Children, on the other hand, absorb good and bad information equally. They will pay as much attention to negative, harmful, misleading information as they will to positive, empowering, and helpful information.

This can lead to intolerance, racism and even hate crimes if it escalates far enough.

Children have not developed a keen and effective “bad information filter” yet, and they often pick up harmful opinions from within their families—even when the family is unaware that they are expressing a harmful opinion. The most important source of information to a child – especially a young child – is their parents or guardians. These individuals will shape a child’s impressions of what is right and wrong, good and evil, socially acceptable and criminal. Even seemingly unimportant matters can make a tremendous difference in a child’s outlook towards others.  

Kids soak up their environments and experiences from the time they are born. True haters begin to develop early. As they grow, they begin to form opinions and beliefs based on what they have been told, feel to be true, and experience. Parents who consistently deliver positive, non-biased messages, encourage diversity, and embrace change, rarely raise haters. Parents may not even realize they are promoting hatred: it could be racist jokes or an offhand comment here and there that encourages racism, makes kids more susceptible to becoming haters or getting involved in a hate crime.

It is easy for kids to focus on one aspect about a person that their parent may dislike, and quickly apply this dislike to all people who share the same attribute. This could and usually does include racism. True haters can come from all places, races, and socio-economic backgrounds, but are almost always put on an early path to hatred by the significant people in their lives. But parents are not the only ones with influence over a child’s belief systems. Even a minor intolerance that reflects a bias from a favorite uncle, cousin, grandparent, or idol can have equal effect and increase the chance your child becomes involved in a hate crime.

It is okay for your kids to have a strong dislike for something, or even someone. That alone doesn’t make them a “hater.” If they take action based on the dislike or hatred, they cross the line and become a hater. These are where the seeds of hate crimes start. This could take the form of bullying another child, refusing to help someone in need because of their differences, or even committing a more serious and violent hate crime. Hatred is taken to its most destructive extreme when it is generalized into hatred for an entire population, and this is something you have to watch for in your children. 

Imagine your child in the following scenarios to see if he or she is on the road to becoming a hater. 

Scenario One

Your child, Jim, gets in an argument with another boy, Quan, at school. Quan is Asian and your son is white. Jim is very mad at Quan and tells you later than night that he hates Quan. Although anger can
be an alarming and dangerous emotion, Jim’s feelings have basis. He and Quan argued and Jim became angry. You will be able to talk with Jim and help him find the real reason for his anger, and eventually Jim and Quan will again be friends. This is realistic hatred.

Scenario Two

Take the same situation: Jim and Quan get in an argument at school. Jim comes home and tells you that he hates Quan, calls him a derogatory name, and says he hates all Asian people. In the days following, Jim continues to express his dislike for all Asian people, making frequent discriminatory and racist comments about them. This is unrealistic hate — and the beginnings of a true hater. 

If the first scenario fits your family dynamic, you are in fine shape. Your child has a reasonable and warranted dislike for an individual, based on his actions. He only dislikes the individual. As children mature, they learn ways to understand and control their anger, and many times kids who feel hatred for each other in grade school become friends in later years. Realistic haters get over it. They do not transfer their anger to all people. 

If the second scenario rings bells, you need to take a closer look at your child and the direction he or she is headed. Unrealistic hatred for an identified group of people is one of the most dangerous emotions and beliefs that one can harbor. Adolph Hitler, perhaps the most notorious hater of all, was driven by hate and he nearly succeeded in exterminating a race of people.

History can and often does repeat itself. I saw it every day as a police officer investigating hate crimes and watching children follow closely in the criminal and violent footsteps of their parents. But it doesn’t have to. You have the power to make the next generation — your kids — safe, wise, caring, tolerant, and free from hate. In order to achieve this, you need to do two things: be responsible for how your own words and actions will affect your children’s attitudes; and watch closely to see if any external influences may cause the seeds of intolerance and racism to germinate and grow in your child.

Early intervention can help to prevent the evil of hatred and hate crimes from infiltrating your family.

Visit www.kidproofsafety.com to learn more about important issues in child and family safety

The first is "Intent."   The offender must have the desire or intention to want to commit the crime. Their motives may vary, but the need is always there.

Second, "Ability."  The offender must believe that they have the skills and equipment they need to carry out their crime. In the case of physical assault of any kind, they not only need to believe that they have the skills to commit the crime, but that theirs outweigh the defensive skill that of the chosen victim.

Third "Opportunity."  The criminal needs an opportunity to commit the crime and to get away with it. Few criminals commit crimes with the intention of getting caught.

You, as a parent, can’t change a potential offender’ intention to on committing a crime, nor can you change the offender’s perception of their abilities.  However, you have complete control over the opportunity that could to make your children their next victim.

By "opportunity" I mean access. An offender needs to have access to your child before he can commit his intended crime.  Access can be many ways. He may gain access through his position as a coach, baby-sitter, relative, neighbor, friend, or acquaintance.  What he is not likely to be, is a complete stranger. As a parent, you have control over your child’s safety and can prevent a crime from happening if you are watchful and diligent in controlling the access that others have to your kids.

These are the basic ways in which you can make sure that any access to your children is safe access:

Evaluate who is in your home or neighborhood.

Evaluate those in your home or neighborhood. You must assess each and every person that you allow into your home and in contact with your children. I am not suggesting a complete criminal screening for the gardener, however, I do suggest that you watch how he interacts with your children. If he shows too much attention to them, if your child is uncomfortable around him, if you have even the slightest reservation about him, get rid of him immediately.

Question everyone’s motives.

There is a motive for every action or thought we have. Not all motives are deviant, but they are present in all actions.  A used car salesman’s motive is to sell you a car. To achieve that purpose, he will adapt his behavior to be nice, approachable, knowledgeable and genial, in hopes that you will buy a car from him.

A teacher’s motive is to educate your children. Her behavior will reflect her motives. She may be firm when she is trying to get a point across, sympathetic to a child who is upset, encouraging and empowering to get kids to learn.

A predator’s motive is to gain access and control of your child so that he can carry out his intended crime. His behavior will reflect his motives—in part. He will be nice, helpful, understanding, willing, generous, accommodating, and anything else he needs to be to convince you that he can be trusted.

If you can’t come up with a valid reason why someone is acting in a friendly, generous way to your children, be very suspicious. There is no reason why the house painter needs to be giving toys and candy to your children. Once again, there is a motive for every action. If the person’s actions do it does not make sense, do not allow them access to your children.

Report your suspicions to the police.

How many times have you seen or heard news reports in which neighbors of an apprehended criminal say they thought the person was suspicious? If they thought so, why didn’t they tell police before another victim was made?

Contrary to what you may think, your observations are valuable to the police, and they are not bothered if you call them. In fact, in this world today where money is tight and police are stretched to the limited, they need your help.  They cannot know what is going on in your community unless you tell them. You will not bother them. You don’t even have to give your name.

But please make sure that you report all suspicious behavior to the police. If police investigate and the suspicion it is unfounded, then it ends. However, in many cases—and I can speak from experience—the smallest tip can lead to a major arrest and removal of a predator from your community.

It is your right, and your duty to tell the police if you feel someone may be dangerous to your family. You owe it, at the very least, to your kids.

The civil commitment law allows inmates who are considered sexually dangerous to be institutionalized at high-security treatment facilities even after they’ve completed their federal prison terms. Next week the Supreme Court will decide if the national civil commitment law will be upheld. Based on what several U.S. Supreme Court justices suggested during arguments recently heard in Washington, it’s likely that it will be.

Under the civil commitment law, more than 100 people have been held, and twenty states have such laws in place. The civil commitment law has strong public support, but is opposed by many psychiatrists, defense lawyers and civil libertarians. Critics claim that the understaffed and overcrowded rehabilitation facilities used for offenders are only detention centres for people the state doesn’t want on the streets.

The civil commitment law isn’t perfect. But there is only one way to keep a child sex offender from abusing kids: remove them from having contact with children – period. If we must lock sex offenders up in prison or let them sit in a hospital for the rest of their lives to ensure that kids will be safe – then we must do it.

Read the CNN article.

It’s 2010 and for many of us, the new year means trying to stick to diet resolutions. How many times have you said you’ll drop ten pounds or stay away from fatty foods after January 1st?

While we make long lists of strict New Year’s resolutions for ourselves, we forget about our kids, who have been devouring unhealthy foods along with us all through the holidays. Children are freely given all kinds of treats that are high in sugar, saturated fat and salt. Research shows that many young kids take in a whopping four times their daily recommended intake of calories on Christmas Day (Carnegie Weight Management).

It is a special time, and everyone should indulge. I’m not suggesting cutting out your child’s favorite foods over winter break or limiting what they eat at Christmas dinner.

But, it’s a new year, and making a commitment to healthy eating should not only be on your list of New Year’s resolutions, but also on your kids’.

A great way to start eating healthy this year is to plan out weekly family meals. We tend to stock the shopping cart with whatever we’d like during the holidays, or let the kids nibble on snacks throughout the day instead of eating proper meals.

Rediscover veggies – fatty and processed meats tend to be the focus on holiday plates. Use healthy vegetarian recipes, or serve bigger portions of veggies and less meat at mealtimes.

When your kids feel like snacking, don’t let them reach for junk food. Promote healthy eating habits by serving cut-up veggies, fruits, low-fat cheese and nuts. The American Academy of Pediatrics also has a great list of 21 New Years Resolutions for Kids to help them come up with some healthy eating ideas for the year ahead.

Remember, child safety isn’t just about predators, or protecting your kids from immediate danger – it’s about keeping them physically healthy and fit, too. Read my other blog post on childhood obesity to learn how encouraging good eating habits and preventing obesity now will help protect their futures.

To add to the disbelief that I have gotten myself into this dream-like state, you have to understand, for all of my life I have had this fascination with vampires. Not the kind of fascination that would make me long to meet one, if they existed that is.  Quite the opposite!  Of all the mystical, fantasy creatures created by myth and imagination, the vampire seems to scare me the most. 

So when the Twilight series first came out, I stayed far away.  As always, I wanted nothing to do with the story, the characters and especially the image of a blood thirsty vampire biting down on the neck of on some naïve, love-starved girl. 

But over the holidays, one quiet day when my family was out shopping, I curled up on my couch with my cat and puppy, and searched the TV for a good movie.  I was scanning through the channels when an image forced me to stop. 

It was this ominous scene between two young people, just laying outside – together – not speaking - just this haunting image – camera spinning – eyes locked, looking deep into each others souls.  It took me a minute before I realized I wasn’t breathing and that I was watching the movie Twilight.
 
Vampires.
Hum.
I wasn’t sure.

I never read the books.  Never wanted to – vampires?

But I was captured.  I was memorized.  And I know it’s ridiculous.  It wasn’t the actors, or a lost youthful fantasy for Robert Pattinson.  It was the story……

So I watched. 
A vampire story.  
Alone. 
And I loved it.

I was embarrassed to be smitten by such a teen movie so it took me a while to tell anyone I watched it.  But when I casually said “ Hey anyone seen the Twilight movie?” to a group of women in my office, I was quickly bombarded with “Oh my God Yes! You have to read the books!”

So when I opened my new Kindle at Christmas, I knew immediately what book would be my first purchase.  Twilight.  What I didn’t expect was to be taken away over the next week reading New Moon,  Eclipse, and then finally Breaking Dawn. 

In one week – I was captured.  I have been completely and utterly overcome with emotion for this intense, melodramatic and eerie love story. 

I realized that I had to blog about it but the protector in me started to over think it.

I started to think about how I can pull this connection together between how girls are attracted to bad boys.  How I can make sense of the attraction to it all.  How “love shouldn’t hurt”, and “if he loves you he won’t kill you”, and every other slogan we use as we try desperately to keep real girls safe in the real world. 

But then it occurred to me – maybe I should just let it be this time.

Just let the story be a “story” and focus instead on celebrating an epic creation that makes us fall in love again – with love.  And call out to all the other middle aged mom’s out there who have experienced the same attraction to the story. 

So that’s what I’m going to do.  Leave it alone and enjoy it.  Maybe I’m just a silly girl after all. 

I’ll  get back to the crime fighting tomorrow. 

“Hill is both predatory and opportunistic and uses violence to achieve his goals. He is particularly violent toward authority figures,” police said in a news release Tuesday.

The police are releasing this information because they believe Hill poses a significant risk to the public. If the Correctional Service of Canada believes an inmate being released is a high-risk offender, they notify the police, who then decide to notify the community.

Hill will be monitored by the Calgary Police Service High Risk Offender Program, police said.

He has green eyes and a fair complexion, and is 5-11” and 150 lbs.

See a photo of Curtis Dale Hill.