Having a child abducted is a parent’s worst nightmare. Our law enforcement expert, Sgt. Gene Page, met us at a local splash pad to remind us of what we can do to keep our children safe.

“It’s summertime, we’re outdoors, this is when we really need to be careful and keep a closer eye on our child or that exact reason,” says Sgt. Page. “Think of yourself as a secret service agent. Your child is the president, that’s the most important person in the world and that’s who we are going to protect.”

As the secret service agent., you have several missions. Mission number one:  Always keep them in your line of vision.

“One thing is, if you’re protecting somebody, you never want to let anyone or anything get in between your vision and your child. When we’re out in a place like this, our child is playing, we’re giving them the freedom to move around, but we’re shifting with them, we’re moving with them. So that we never let them get completely out of our sight,” says Sgt. Page.

Mission number two: Avoid distractions, especially your phone.

“Sometimes we think this is time for us to take a break, catch up on work, things like that. But this is a time to put our devices away, slow down, and just enjoy our children and keep that main visual,” says Sgt. Page.

Your third mission: pay attention to cars around you.

“How far are we from a parking lot? How far are we from a  roadway? Because we know a vehicle is probably going to be involved and distance is our friend,” says Sgt. Page, “So, we’ve done everything correctly, but if your child is abducted time is of the essence, so we need to call 911 immediately. Make sure you have a complete description of your child, what were they wearing, hair color, eye color.”
        
Thinking about the possibility of your child being abducted is a scary thought, but it’s important to be proactive in case it was to happen. One way is by creating a safety profile of your child. Sgt. Page recommends Smart911. You can create a profile for your children with a recent picture and all the information you want 911 to have in case of an emergency. Click here to access that website.

If you would like Jennifer and Gene to cover a specific topic in Police Rapport., email Jennifer at jpenate@knwa.com.