Home FAQ Contacts
Download Why KISS? About Us Fundraising Safety Tips
Safety Tips

Teach Your Children:

  • That if they become lost, not to wonder off from the place where they first became lost. This will increase the chances of them being found more quickly
  • Tell them to always check with you before they go anywhere. Teach them to never leave without telling a responsible person where they are going
  • Tell them to always travel with a friend or in a group because it is safer to do so and to never wait at a bus stop alone
  • If your child gets lost in a store or at a mall they should stay where they are and only ask for help from someone working behind the store counter or from a uniformed security guard
  • Make sure that your children know your name, phone number and address
  • Teach them to never respond to or approach someone in a car asking for help or for directions. Tell them that a person should be asking an adult not a child
  • Teach your children to always say "NO" if someone tries to touch them or treat them in a way that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable or confused and to leave right away and always tell you about it no matter what that person has said to them or who that person is
  • When your children are out on their own or with friends, tell them to walk and ride their bike only in well-lit areas, and to never take short cuts.
  • Teach them that if someone follows them on foot, to get away from him or her as quickly as they can. If someone follows them in a car, teach them to turn around and go in the opposite direction. Tell them to Always be sure to TELL you or a trusted adult what happened.
  • Tell them that if someone they don't know or feel comfortable with offers them a ride, to just say "NO". Warn them to never hitchhike, and to only accept a ride from someone if you have told them ahead of time that it is okay to do so.
  • Let your children know that they can always talk to you about anything and that they will not get into trouble for doing so. If they are sad or afraid or concerned about anything, tell them that it is always okay to talk to you about it
  • Ensure a sense of confidence in your children that you will believe what they are telling you and that you will respond to it and help them
  • Teach them to trust their feelings and if anyone at all makes them feel nervous, uncomfortable of frightened that they should do everything they can to avoid that person and that they should tell you or another trusted adult about it right away

Statistics show that in at least two thirds of the cases (66%), the offender is not a stranger in the eye and mind of the child. The victim and offender know each other, at least casually. Most offenders seek legitimate access to children and then victimize them through a process similar to seduction.

Facts That You Should Know About:

  • Teenage Girls between the ages of 11 - 18 have an 84% higher chance of being the victim of a sexual assault or abduction
  • The average victim of abduction and murder is an approximately 11-year-old girl who is described as a "low-risk", "normal" kid from a middle-class neighborhood with a stable family relationship who has initial contact with an abductor within a quarter of a mile of her home.
  • In a recent nationwide law enforcement survey 98% of the police officers polled agreed that a high quality photograph such as an electronic photograph is a vital tool in any missing child investigation
  • Posters of missing children really do work. Currently, one in seven missing children are recovered as a direct result of someone recognizing a picture of a missing child and reporting it to the police
  • In violent crimes such as sexual assault and physical and sexual abuse, a child is more likely to be abducted by someone known to them than by a complete stranger
  • The AMBER Alert Program, named after 9 year old Amber Hagerman is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters and transportation agencies to activate an urgent bulletin in child abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly recruit the help of an entire community to assist in the search and recovery of an abducted child

About Amber Hagerman

 In January 1996, nine-year-old Amber Hagerman was riding her bicycle on a warm Saturday afternoon when a neighbor heard the girl scream. The neighbor saw a man pull Amber off her bike, throw her into the front seat of his pickup truck, and drive away at a high speed.
The neighbor called police and provided a description of the suspect and his vehicle, but couldn't recall much else. Arlington Police and the FBI interviewed other neighbors and searched for the suspect and vehicle. Local radio and TV stations covered the story in their regular newscasts.
Four days later, Amber's body was found in a drainage ditch four miles away. Her throat had been cut. Her kidnapping and murder remain unsolved.
A concerned citizen contacted a Dallas area radio station, suggesting the idea that Dallas radio stations should repeat news bulletins about abducted children just like they do severe weather warnings.
The idea was presented to the Association of Radio Managers (ARM) composed of general managers of the major radio stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The general managers agreed that such a program would provide an important public service and might help save the life of a child.
The Dallas Amber Plan was started in July 1997 to help safely recover missing children that police believe have been abducted. Since then, the program has successfully recovered eight children and expanded to other cities and states nationwide and is now in effect in Canada.

Resources For Parents

Here are some important resources where you can quickly obtain more information in regard to protecting your children and teaching them to be safer.

http://www.netsmartz411.org/

Parents' and guardians' premier, online resource for answering questions about Internet Safety, computers, and the Web.

www.missingkids.com

www.interpol.com/Public/Children/Missing/NationalLaws/mcCanada.asp

The MCR maintains and monitors files on missing children in Canada. ... to liaise with the police departments investigating the missing child report.

www.gvnet.com/streetchildren/Canada.htm

24-Hour Hotline

If you think you have seen a missing child, contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

Toll Free and Phone Free Numbers

USA

800-843-5678

USA TTY

800-826-7653

Australia

011-800-0843-5678

Canada

800-843-5678

Europe

00-800-0843-5678

Hong Kong

022-800-0843-5678

Japan

011-800-0843-5678 or 0062-800-0843-5678

Mexico

001-800-843-5678

South Korea

001-800-0843-5678

Taiwan

00-800-843-5678

Callers without access to the USA 800/toll-free telephone system may dial 001-703-522-9320 to reach the Hotline. This is not a toll or phone free number.

Facts About the Hotline

  • The Hotline is toll-free for all the countries/regions listed above
  • All calls to the Hotline are recorded
  • Caller ID is available
  • Language services are available

NCMEC's Hotline receives calls for service from

  • Families and law-enforcement agencies calling to report a missing child and seek assistance in their search
  • People reporting the sighting of a missing child and requesting safety information to better protect their children
  • People reporting child-sexual exploitation
  • Professionals seeking resources to assist them in their missing- and sexually exploited child cases
  • Parents who need reunification assistance once their child is found

National Child Pornography Tipline and CyberTipline

NCMEC, in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, serves as the National Child Pornography Tipline (1-800-843-5678). The Tipline handles calls from individuals reporting the sexual exploitation of children through the production and distribution of pornography.
For online reporting of child sexual exploitation, visit NCMEC's CyberTipline at www.CyberTipline.com.

National Runaway Switchboard

The Hotline has established a system of networking calls to the National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) in Chicago, Illinois. On average NCMEC transfers information from 20 such calls each day to NRS. This sharing of information ensures that both agencies talk with the caller about the runaway child to glean the facts needed to best assist him or her without either organization duplicating services or efforts to help the runaway child and that child's family. Visit the National Runaway Switchboard online at http://www.1800runaway.org.
Home | Download | Why KISS? | Distributorships | About Us
Fundraising | Safety Tips | FAQs | Contact Us | Our Policies
Copyright © K.I.S.S. Network. All rights reserved.

Website Design by Reality Software