Police Blog: What You Don't Know About Kids and Cyberspace

Next month, the GBI and a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children task force will hold a program on cyber crimes against children, including cyber-bullying, nearby.

The program will be held from 7-9 p.m., on May 2 at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, 1978 Mount Vernon Road, in Dunwoody. For information, phone 770-393-1424 or email dwallace@slpres.org.

Here are some facts when considering Internet Crimes Against Children:

• 44 percent of tweens admit they’ve watched someone online their parents wouldn’t approve of.

• Only 15 percent of parents are aware of their children’s social networking habits, and their exposure to cyber-bullying.

• The largest group of Internet porn viewers is children ages 12-17.

• 90 percent of children ages 8‐16 have seen online pornography.

• 86 percent of girls claimed to be able to conduct online chats without their parents knowing; 57 percent said they could read their parents’ email; and 54 percent said they have the ability to engage a cyber-relationship.

• In 2004, there were at least 3,433 child abuse domains online; in 2006 there were at least 10,656.

• 20 percent of all Internet pornography involves children, with more than 20,000 new images posted weekly.

• 65 percent of 8 to14-year-olds have been involved in a cyber‐bullying incident.

• 95 percent of parents don’t know common chat room acronyms teenagers use, such as when a parent is watching. The acronyms are POS (parent over shoulder), P911 (parent alert), and A/S/L (age/sex/location).

Officer Larry Jacobs is the Crime Prevention Officer for the Sandy Springs Police Department. He can be reached at ljacobs@sandyspringsga.gov.