|
Hamilton,
NJ – Governor Jon S. Corzine today
joined Attorney General Anne Milgram and
New Jersey Commissioner of Education Lucille
Davy at an educational program on Internet
safety specifically organized for school
teachers and administrators.
The
training program at the New Jersey State
Police Technology Complex was attended by
210 educators from all over New Jersey,
but mostly from Middlesex and Mercer school
districts. The program adopts a “train
the trainer’’ approach which
has been used by the State Police’s
Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force
to teach county and local law enforcement
officials about Internet safety. The training
curriculum was designed to cover such topics
as cyber bullying, the potential dangers
of social networking sites and chat rooms,
the behavioral traits of sexual predators
and the methods they use to lure potential
victims.
“The
benefits of new technologies are enormously
important, but too many opportunities exist
for predators to exploit children through
the use of the Internet, or for children
to experience dangerous situations as a
result of the doors that technology has
opened,’’ Gov. Corzine said.
“These Internet safety training sessions
are intended to arm teachers with the tools
they need to teach our children and their
parents how to safely surf the Internet
and reduce the threat of our children falling
victim to predators.”
The
training program today was the first of
five regional programs planned by the Attorney
General’s Office and the Education
Department. State officials have a goal
of reaching at least 1,000 educators in
the current school year. The second regional
program is scheduled for Nov. 28 at Gloucester
County College in Sewell. A trial-run of
the train the trainer program was held in
August for approximately 40 Salem County
school teachers.
Attorney General Milgram and Commissioner
Davy established the training program for
teachers earlier this year at the urging
of Governor Corzine.
“The
Internet is a great tool for learning and
expanding one’s horizon,’’
Milgram said. “But it can also be
a parent’s worst nightmare because
of the potential dangers that can confront
unsuspecting children. We must teach our
children to be cautious on the Internet
and not presume that their technological
savvy will be enough to keep them out of
harm’s way.’’
Commissioner
Davy added, "Last year, one in three
13-to-17-year-olds nationally reported their
parents know 'very little' or 'nothing'
about the Internet. The training we conduct
today, and from here on out, will help us
reach those children and those parents.
We must all recognize the risks associated
with using the Internet. We must all encourage
students to report victimization to a trusted
adult, and prepare them to be 'smart' users
of technology."
Teachers
and administrators receive professional
development credits for attending the sessions.
Teachers registered through the Department
of Education’s Web site at http://education.state.nj.us/events.
The
chief organizer for today’s session
was State Police Lt. Keith Halton, who is
head of the State Police Digital Technology
Investigations Unit, which is the lead agency
for the state’s Internet Crimes Against
Children Task Force. The training session
included presentations from cyber crimes
experts with the State Police and county
prosecutors’ offices, as well as a
representative from the National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children.
Experts included State Police Sgts. Michael
Tansey and Stanley Field, State Police Dets.
John Gorman and Charles Allen, Sgt. Andrew
Donofrio of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s
Office, Sgt. William Wei and Det. Robert
Angelini of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s
Office, Det. Steve LaPorta of the Gloucester
County Prosecutor’s Office, and Michelle
Collins, the director of the exploited child
division of the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Educators attending training sessions will
receive training manuals and DVDs with a
number of Internet safety programs produced
by NCMEC and the New Jersey State Police.
Teachers who attend the sessions will be
able to return to their districts to give
Internet safety presentations to students,
parents and community groups.
Three Internets safety presentations produced
by NCMEC are aimed, respectively, at young
children, teens, and parents. Two Internet
safety presentations for teens and parents
were produced by the State Police. The State
Police digital technology unit has regularly
made safety presentations at schools and
to community groups, reaching approximately
50,000 students and parents in the last
year.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children reported in 2006 that approximately
one-third of young Internet users had unwanted
exposure to sexual material in the previous
year, and 9 percent experienced some sort
of on-line harassment. In addition, 13 percent
reported they received unwanted sexual solicitations,
and 4 percent said that on-line solicitors
had asked them for sexually explicit photographs.
But
only 5 percent said they had reported on-line
solicitations to law enforcement or to Internet
service providers. The Attorney General’s
office has created a new Report Abuse! icon,
which is being adopted by six social networking
sites that will allow Internet users to
swiftly report inappropriate, abusive or
potentially illegal activities. The icon
will direct complaints to social networking
site operators, who, under best practices
guidelines, are required to review the reports
and in many cases refer them to appropriate
law enforcement agencies. It also allows
users to link to the CyberTip hotline of
NCMEC, and provides users advice on when
to immediately report potential crimes to
the police. It also provides users general
advice on surfing the Web safely. For more
information on the icon, go to www.nj.gov/oag/reportabuse.
#
# # |
