TPD Promotes Child Safety
December 2, 2009
Our children are our most valuable assets. In an effort to protect our children the Tallahassee Police Department provides a variety of child safety programs. In addition to Officer Friendly presentations, where officers build a rapport with children and teach them safety habits, the Community Relations Unit also offers Child Identification. The Child Identification Program is conducted primarily in partnership with civic or community organizations, churches, businesses, and neighborhoods. Contrary to popular belief, the Child ID Program is not a database maintained by law enforcement, but a current photo and biographical information kept by the parent. Likewise, the Child ID is not an actual ID card for the child to carry, but rather a resource for parents to provide to law enforcement in the event a child is missing, lost, or abducted. Parents are encouraged to update this information annually as a child’s features tend to change, as they grow older.
The Tallahassee Police Department’s Community Relations Unit is pleased to offer this service free of charge, in an effort to keep our children safe. The Tallahassee Police Department has provided more than 2,000 parents in the Tallahassee area with up-to-date photos and fingerprints of their child. The next Child ID will be held this Saturday, December 5th, from 9am-Noon, at the Tallahassee Police Department (234 East Seventh Avenue).
Parents are offered the following suggestions to keep their child safe:
- Stranger Danger! Remind your child that anyone they don’t know is a stranger.
- Never talk to or take candy from a stranger.
- Never take rides from a stranger.
- Never help a stranger look for a lost pet.
- Never open the door to a stranger.
- Make sure your child knows his/her complete name, your name, and how to contact you in an emergency.
- Keep an updated schedule of your child’s activities and know whom they will be with, how to contact them, and when they will return.
- When at parks, shopping malls, and public events, be aware of your surroundings and keep your child within eyesight.
- Watch who is watching you and your children and report any suspicious persons or activities to the police immediately.
- As always, make sure your child knows how to dial 911, if they need help or has an emergency.
For additional information on the Child ID Program and other crime prevention services offered by the Tallahassee Police Department, please contact the Community Relations Unit at (850) 891-4251 or via email.
Contact
David McCranie, Public Information Office, (850) 891-4255
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