News Release from: Clackamas Co. Sheriff's Office
Make the INTERCEPT Task Force your number-one MySpace friend
Posted: Oct. 22, 2008, 9:47 a.m.
The INTERCEPT Task Force takes special interest in reaching out to youths and their parents to warn them of possible dangers prowling the Internet.
A national Internet poll of teens ages 13-18 showed that 54% frequently communicated online with someone they had never met in person, while 27% said they had talked online about sex with someone they never met.
In addition, 33% discussed meeting someone whom they had only met through the Internet and 42% said they posted personal information that would enable someone to find them. Nearly one in eight of the teens polled discovered that an online "friend" was an adult pretending to be much younger.
In another survey, 4% of all youth Internet users received aggressive sexual solicitations in which these solicitors asked to meet in person, called them on the telephone, or sent offline mail, money, or gifts.
The INTERCEPT Task Force is offering area youths who are MySpace users a layer of protection by enabling them to make the INTERCEPT Task Force their "number-one friend" on MySpace.
Parents can also discuss with their children about adding the INTERCEPT Task Force to their "Friends List" as a condition of having a MySpace page. Once the INTERCEPT Task Force is added to the Top Friends List on the youth's MySpace page, it displays the INTERCEPT Task Force badge, which may act as a visual deterrent to predators. However, if a youth still receives inappropriate messages, the youth can contact the INTERCEPT Task Force through various MySpace mediums (such as instant messaging) to report it. The page will be monitored by the Task Force Detectives. Once we receive the report, we can act on the information and take appropriate action if warranted.
The Task Force's MySpace page is available at: www.myspace.com/intercept_oregon.
This concept was made possible in part with the technical assistance of SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, a nonprofit organization based in Sacramento, California, that is dedicated to improving the quality of justice and public safety through the use, management and exchange of information; application of new technologies; and responsible law and policy, while safeguarding security and privacy (www.search.org).
EARLIER:
[END]
Contact Info: Jim Strovink, Detective