Bryan Marshall
Forty-nine percent of children 10 to 17 years old have given out personal information online.
One in seven in that age group have received unwanted sexual solicitations on the Internet, but only about 25 percent of those solicitations are reported.
One in five have met face-to-face with someone they met online.
These are a few of the startling statistics state Attorney General Jack Conway relayed to attendees Tuesday during the 2008 “Resources Working Together” conference at the Madison County Extension Office.
The conference also included presentations by Madison County ASAP (Agency for Substance Abuse Policy), the Central Kentucky Drug Task Force, the Kentucky State Police, the state Office of Inspector General Drug Enforcement Branch, Appalachian Research and Defense Fund and the Kentucky Caregiver Support Program, among others.
“Kids are meeting new friends on social networking sites,” Conway said. “That scares a lot of parents. Don’t get me wrong, the Internet is a wonderful tool. But, unfortunately, it’s also a tool for crime.”
Recently, 49 attorneys general entered into an agreement with the parent corporation of MySpace, a popular social networking Web site, to make the site safer for kids.
The agreement requires safety tips on all pages, a setting that locks in users younger than 18 to only converse with those in same age group and the development of an age identification software so no one younger than 14 can go onto the site, Conway said.
All pornographic content also will be removed, and a 72-hour hotline will be available where parents can contact MySpace and get a response back within three days and even quicker if it deals with a potential criminal activity.
“Since May of last year when MySpace put in its sweeps every two weeks to look for sexual offenders, nationwide 40,000 registered sexual offenders have been taken off the site,” Conway said. “In Kentucky, we’ve taken 350. Quite honestly, we may just be catching the dumb ones. We’re catching the ones who are using their real identities.”
“I’m commending MySpace, but I’ve got to ask that Facebook and others get on board as well,” he said.
The attorney general’s office also recently has been involved in three high-profile stings in cooperation with NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” in Bowling Green, northern Kentucky and Louisville that netted 29 child predators.
“The attorney general has always had a team of investigators that looked into certain crimes,” Conway said. “I want to take about a third of the investigators and create an Internet Crimes Unit. The law lags technology. This is an issue where, if something was to happen in Madison County, I’m not sure the law enforcement or the prosecutors have the resources to tackle it. I’m not coming in and saying I’m going to do someone else’s job, but we’re here as a resource to educate and provide technologically savvy investigators to help local law enforcement.”
Calling Internet safety a “common-sense issue,” Conway said parents have to more diligent in monitoring children when online, including locating a computer in a common area instead of a child’s bedroom.
“It’s tougher now because these kids are meeting and running with people they meet online,” he said. “So, you need to Google your child’s name. Go onto MySpace with and without your child. You’re not spying on your kid. If it’s out there and the world can see it, you need to see it as well. You need to see who they’re interacting with.”
“None of the stuff that the attorney generals or law enforcement are doing is going to replace good, sound parenting,” Conway said.
Bryan Marshall can be reached at bmarshall@richmondregister.com or 624-6691.
