ICE provides warnings for back to school safety
It’s that time of the year again. The time when summer vacation comes to an end and kids across the country start preparing for another school year.
Since the beginning of August and up until the Tuesday after Labor Day, the back-to-school rush will be in full effect with school shopping and parent-teacher conferences taking the place of family vacations and lazy days filled with playing video games.
While school is supposed to be a safe haven for children when they’re away from their parents for 8-9 hours a day, there are dangers families never consider.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Columbus, Ohio Special Agent Cameron Bryant, many of the same threats that children face during their summer vacations remain as schools get back in session.
“As much as kids use the Internet in schools, online threats are always going to be an issue,” Bryant said. “Those threats can come in the form of online predators or cyberbullying from their own classmates.”
The beginning of the school year marks the first time many classmates have seen each other since they departed for the summer break. These first few days and weeks of school present opportunities to rehash old beefs that have lingered for weeks and often make their way to the online space.
The cyberbullying can result in altercations at school, on buses or in the neighborhoods where students live, all of which can present dangerous situations.
“Students have to know who their friends are,” Bryant said. “It’s easy to just say ‘stay off the Internet,’ but that’s not happening in this era. Parents just have to be mindful of what their kids and their classmates have going on online.”
Social media sites are prime stalking grounds for online predators. Bryant warns parents and students to be mindful of what they’re posting on their Facebook and Instagram pages, for example, and to be mindful of fake profiles attempting to “friend” them.
With many schools now requiring students to wear uniforms and excited parents posting “first day of school” pictures, predators can easily figure out where to go to target for potential victims.
“We hear the question ‘how did the pedophile figure out that this was the same child [in the pictures],’” Bryant said. “These predators will look at the school name on the uniforms, go to that school and watch the kids.”
The beginning of a new school year is an exciting time. As long as children are mindful of their surroundings as they commute to and from school and are smart in the online activity, the 2015-16 school year will be a successful one.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.
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