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Current Press Releases

August 14, 2008

For Immediate Release:

The City of Tacoma is the site of the first Safe Child Town Hall, located at Lincoln High School’s auditorium, is Wednesday, August 20th, at 6:00 pm.

This town hall series is designed to empower communities, parents, and children; to help define and confront real risk head-on, in order to reduce crimes against children and tragedies in our communities. The Safe Child Town Hall series is part of Washington Communities Against Predator’s [Wash-CAP] Safe Child Project, in observance of National Missing Children’s Day. As many of the media know, 67% of all reported Sexual Assaults are committed upon minors: 33% are below 12 years of age. It is the goal of the Safe Child Project to reduce those numbers.  

We hope for community members from across Tacoma to attend. Parents, care-givers, concerned adults and teenagers all benefit from learning –proactively- how to safeguard the children within their communities. With knowledge and empowerment, children can be kept safe and secure.

Tacoma Safe Child Town Hall topics will include:

·         preventative safety for child and family,

·         resources available if your child has been assaulted,

·         real statistics on who is a threat to your child and community,

·         internet safety

·         what is being done to increase the safety of Tacoma’s families & children, and what has been    learned in the last year since the tragic loss of Zinna Linnick,

·         what kind of oversight Registered Sex Offenders receive,

·         Panel Q&A

Participants include:

·         Sexual Assault Center of Pierce County

·         Safe Streets

·         Department of Corrections

·         Legislative Youth Advisory Council

·         District 27 of the Washington State Legislature

·         City of Tacoma, Tacoma TV

·         Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital

·         Tacoma Police Department

·         Tacoma Schools 

Please – Attend if you can. Children are welcome. Printed materials will be available from participating organizations, including the Take 25 program from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children [NCMEC].

May 20, 2008

For Immediate Release:

[Press Release from the Attorney General's Office]

Attorney General provides “Tip of the Day” for days leading up to Missing Children’s Day

Joins coalition supporting “Safe Child Week”

OLYMPIA - Attorney General Rob McKenna today joined Washington’s Communities Against Predators in sharing tips for parents to improve child safety and prevent child abductions. The Attorney General’s Office is working with Communities Against Predators as part of a national effort called Safe Child Week--a week-long event May 19 through 25 to educate children and caregivers about preventing abductions.

“As parents, one of our worst fears is having a child go missing, but there are some basic precautions we can all take to help keep our kids safe,” McKenna said. “I hope all parents and caregivers take a few minutes to review these life-saving tips.”

McKenna reminded parents that as sex predators have become increasingly more sophisticated, the “Stranger Danger” message is no longer the most effective way to protect children. More and more frequently, predators groom families and children in order to gain their trust before committing their crimes.

In 2006, the Attorney General’s Office released its national Child Abduction Murder Study, an expert review of nearly 800 child abduction murders and the factors surrounding them. The study found that in 44 percent of cases, the victims and killers were strangers. But in 42 percent of the cases, the victims and killers were friends or acquaintances.

McKenna today provided a “Tip of the Day” for the five days of Safe Child Week, leading up to Missing Children’s Day on May 25.

·       Choose babysitters with care. Obtain references from family, friends and neighbors. Once you have chosen the caregiver, drop in unexpectedly to see how your children are doing. Ask children how the experience with the caregiver was and listen carefully to their responses” (Audio- 15 seconds)

·       Remind your children it’s OK to say no to anything that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable or confused and teach your children to tell you if anything or anyone makes them feel this way.  (Audio-11 seconds)

·       Remind your children not to walk or play alone outside. (Audio- 4 seconds)

·       Teach your children to never approach a vehicle, occupied or not, unless they know the owner AND are accompanied by a parent, guardian, or other trusted adult. (Audio-11 seconds)

·       Practice ‘what if’ situations and ask your children how they would respond. ‘What if you fell off your bike and you needed help? Who would you ask?’ (Audio-10 seconds)

More tips are available at www.take25.org

In 2006, the Attorney General’s Office worked with victim advocates, law enforcement and prosecutors to draft a comprehensive package of bills to protect children from sex predators. All were passed by the legislature (PDF).

One of the new laws established the crime of Criminal Trespass Against a Child (PDF). It was the first law in the nation to give employees at facilities where children congregate the authority to order out certain registered sex offenders. Offenders who refuse to obey such orders can be charged with an unranked Class C felony punishable by a maximum one year in prison.

Every year in America, an estimated 800,000 children are reported missing, more than 2,000 children each day. An analysis of attempted abduction cases by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found that in 88 percent of the cases, the child escaped would-be abductors through their own actions.  Forty-one percent actively resisted (yelling, kicking, pulling away, running away or attracting attention) while 47 percent recognized something was not right and responded by walking or running away. 

 

For Immediate Release:

 
The folks at Communities Against Predators are asking the media to Take 25 to talk about child safety. You talk about politics, sports, weather, and actual crimes against children: Please Take 25 to talk about how parents and care-givers can create a safe environment for their kids, and how kids can learn to keep themselves safer around the neighborhood and online.
 
Governor Gregoire has issued a proclamation declaring May 19-25 to be Safe Child Week in observance of National Missing Children's Day, and in encouragement to parents, care-givers, community organizations, and schools to provide safety education to children, and to raise awareness about crimes against children.
 
While Washington State is a relatively safe place to live with regard to property crime and violent crime, crimes against children are just as prevalent in any of our neighborhoods as they are anywhere else in the country.
 
According to a Justice Department report from 2006,
67% of all reported sex crimes occurred against minors,
34% of all reported sex crimes occurred against children under 12, and
14% of all reported sex crimes occurred against children under 6 years of age.
One in three girls, and one in five boys, experience sexual violence as a minor.
 
Safe Child Week exists entirely for the purpose of reducing those statistics. That won't happen without educating and empowering children with safety education, and that won't happen until the topic comes out from under the rug, and into our daily lives.

May 5, 2008

For Immediate Release:
 
National Missing Children's Day is on May 25. This is the 26th National Missing Children's Day, which was first proclaimed by President Reagan in observance of the disappearance of a young boy in New York, and in observance of the thousands of children that are abducted in the US every year.
 
Washington Communities Against Predators, and Washington State, are observing National Missing Children's Day with the creation of Safe Child Week, which will occur May 19-25. 
 
Safe Child Week is a week of prevention education across Washington State, working with the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children's Take 25 program. Our goal is that Take 25's common-sense and non-scary message will reach every single care-giver and parent in Washington State.
 
We're off to a great start.
 
The Governor's Office, Attorney General's Office, the State Senate, the PTA, the Association of Washington Cities, several of the regional library systems, Moms' Clubs of Washington, a number of hospitals, Safe Streets and other community based organizations, have all signed on to raise awareness, educate, and empower communities, families, and children.
 
But will it be enough? In 2006, 58,000 children were abducted by non-family members. 67% of reported sex crimes were committed against children under 18, 33% were committed upon children under 12. 14% of all reported sex crimes were committed upon children under 6 years old. And that's the crimes that were reported. Law enforcement indicate that a large number of these crimes go unreported as the criminal is in a position of authority over the child.
 
The effects of this type and amount of child victimization are felt by the family, the community, and society. We would ask that society 'Take 25' to realize that it is a serious risk to society: 33% of girls, and 20% of boys will experience sexual assault as children, and the damage will be lasting.
 
We can prevent it, and Safe Child Week, with Take 25, is a solid step in that direction.

February 18, 2008

For Immediate Release:

Senate Bill 6358, "Adding child care providers, volunteers, and employees to the definition of "predatory" perpetrators for the purposes of filing a special allegation", would affect cases such as the recent Krum child rape case in Redmond, Washington.

Youth pastors, child volunteers, pre-school teachers... all of these are roles with a great deal of authority over young children who are not necessarily capable of articulating their fear or distrust, and who are more amenable to 'training' by predators.

Consider that and also the horrifying statistics, via a Justice Department study: 67% of all sexual assault cases take place among children under 18, and 34% of sexual assault cases that are reported are among children under 6. We can see that children need greater protections.

If someone takes a job, either paid or unpaid, as a child care provider or child instructor, knowing that they have an immoral and predatory attraction to children, and that they will have greater access to children, and more trust from children and adults, their punishment needs to suit their efforts. Their punishment needs to be increased.

SB 6358 provides that increased punishment, and members of Washington Communities Against Predators support its passage into Law.

Senate Bill 6358 has just been pulled for a second reading by the Senate Rules Committee. The deadline for the bill to pass the Senate Rules Committee is Tuesday, February 19, at 5pm.

###

Bill's Sponsor: Senator Regala http://www1.leg.wa.gov/senate/Regala

Justice Department Study: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/saycrle.txt

Scheduled events

  • July 21 & 22, Take 25 event at Jubilee Days in White Center, hosted by the Kiwanis of White Center.
  • August 20th - Safe Child Town Hall - Tacoma
  • September 18 - Safe Child Town Hall - Bellevue

For more information contact us.