For those of you who live or work in the Hume Police District, you are one of the 130,000 people that are fortunate to be part of one of the safest communities in NSW.
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Crime figures for the Hume Police District continue to fall in traditional categories such as assault, break enter steal, steal from dwelling, steal from motor vehicles and malicious damage offences. Your local police from the Hume Police District are continuing to proactively target those people committing these offences through prevention, disruption and response strategies.
We are, though, today faced with different technology-based crime targeting our children.
As a parent, you wouldn't think of leaving your children alone in a strange neighbourhood, allowing them to stroll through an adult bookstore or let them wander aimlessly on a busy street or highway.
Similarly, no responsible parent would permit their child to have secret meetings with strangers.
The internet, with all its benefits, presents new dangers to kids and parents need to be aware of them. Parents need to be involved with their children's internet experience. Teaching children how to handle themselves on the internet is important.
There are also filtering software packages and website rating schemes designed to help parents guide their children's internet experience, while still allowing that child internet independence.
In this new and dynamic environment we all need to work together to protect those who need us most. A bit of prevention is worth a gigabyte of cure.
Safe internet use tips for parents
- Be aware of how much time your child spends on the internet.
- Spend time talking to your child about the dangers associated with online conversations, particularly when communicating with someone that they have only ever met online.
- Spend time exploring the internet with your children and let them teach you about their favourite websites and applications.
- Keep computers or internet-enabled devices in a room the whole family can access, not in your child's bedroom; monitor internet access on those devices.
- Consider installing filtering and/or computer blocking software provided by your internet service provider.
- Ensure you are able to access your child's email and social media accounts and randomly check the contents.
- Check your phone bill for unusual outgoing calls and consider using 'caller ID' to identify incoming calls.
- Consult your telephone company for options designed to ensure privacy and security.
- Enquire with your child's school, public library, and places they frequent to find out what internet safety measures they have in place.
Information on internet safety is available on the NSW Police website at http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/safety_and_prevention/safe_and_secure/online_safety
Tips for children
- Do not send a picture of yourself to anyone you don't know and never place a full profile and picture anywhere on the internet.
- Never give out your personal information, including full name, home address, phone number or school, over the internet.
- Never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone that you have only ever chatted with on the internet.
- Tell your parents or another adult you know of any contact that makes you feel uncomfortable.
- Think carefully before uploading or sending images or videos to people over the internet. Once you press 'send' it's definite and final - you can't get it back or take it down.
Information on youth issues, including online safety is available on the NSW Police website at http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/safety_and_prevention/safe_and_secure/young_people
More information and educational packages for parents and children are available from ThinkUKnow, a multi-agency program designed to educate and promote cyber safety: https://www.thinkuknow.org.au/
With the number of online communication apps increasing, it is very important to speak to your child about the dangers associated with online conversations and know what your child is doing online.
Keep an eye on how much time your child is spending on the internet, what websites they are visiting, and who they may be speaking with, as they may not be who they seem.
Not only should young people be very careful about providing personal information details to a person they only know in an online environment, they should never organise to meet them as doing so may place them at further risk of harm.
If they encounter something or someone they are not comfortable with, we encourage them to speak to someone they trust.
