Detective Chuck Haley of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office gave a presentation, Oct. 1, to Medical Lake students and parents on how they can prevent cyber bullying and sexual harassment on the Internet.
Haley, who works as an investigator from the Sexual Assault Unit/Internet Crimes Against Children, shared some previous cases with parents, such as an incident in Florida where a girl took her own life after being bullied by two of her classmates.
“The bullying was so relentless and went on for so long,” Haley said.
Haley asked parents to talk with their children about some of the risks that can come with owning and using a cellphone. Sometimes kids will send inappropriate pictures or harassing text messages to each other.
“I challenge them to stand up to bullies,” Haley said. “I explain to them I did stupid stuff as a kid. When we were kids, we bullied with our fists. Today kids do it with cellphones.”
Haley also cautioned children and parents not to give out personal information, as well as explained the risks of talking to strangers on the Internet. He said that predators will disguise their identity and attempt to lure children off public sites and onto private chat rooms.
Haley explained that some parents do not understand the technology their children use. He added that children will also hide things from their parents.
“I’ve talked to a lot of parents about this, and after a case they’ll tell me ‘I had no idea,’” Haley said.
Haley suggested parents talk with their children and establish some rules before they give them a cellphone or a computer.
“You can give them a user name while you are the administrator,” Haley said. “There’s nothing wrong with kids having a laptop as long as there is an open-door policy.”
Haley said that parents could take their cellphones to their service provider and have them modify the device to where it keeps track of every text their child sends, or prevents it from receiving pictures. He also gave tips to parents about keeping their computers safe from hackers, such as putting tape over their computer camera and encrypting their wireless routers.
Medical Lake Middle School Vice Principal Scott Blasingame said he is glad the district partners with the Sheriff’s Office for these type of events. He also believes that it’s good for students and parents to hear this kind of information.
“It makes an impact and kids can understand situations they can get themselves into,” Blasingame said. “When we do these events, it gets the message across.”
Parent Cathy Russell also felt that parents benefitted from the presentation.
“You’ve got to know what your kids are doing,” Russell said. “It’s our job as parents to educate them and guide them.”
At the end, Haley left his business card for parents. He said he would be willing to talk to them, as well as their children.
“I’ll talk to kids until I’m blue in the face if I think I can save them,” Haley said.
Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.
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