CommunityWatch

Sexting in Lacy, WA

2010-02-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

CommunityWatch has followed the continuing story of the three teens in Lacey who participated in the extremely ill-advised act of ‘sexting.’

Convicting these children as Registered Sex Offenders would be grossly inappropriate, a complete misuse of the Registry, and is a punishment that far exceeds the severity of the crime. There are instances where ‘sexting’ can meet the severity or purpose of the Registry, but we have read no indication of those details here. There was no coercion, no extreme age difference, no profit. The only ill-intent was standard, deplorable, teen maliciousness.

Child pornography laws were not written to cover this crime. This is clearly an area where law has not caught up with technology, and as responsible adults and care-takers of both children and justice, it is important that Thurston County prosecutors use discretion and compassion to mete out appropriate consequences. Community service is a much more appropriate punishment than the life sentence of exclusion and shame that they’re facing.

We hope that this is a learning moment for teens across Washington, and for parents and care-givers across Washington, that some decisions can be made quickly, and affect your entire life negatively. In the digital age more than ever, we need to think before we act, because you really can never get that digital file back again. There is a great new resource for teens with regard to digital responsibility: A Thin Line, from MTV, is having a very relevant and teen-oriented conversation about sexting, and we encourage teens and tweens to join that conversation. http://www.athinline.org/

We would like share our support and best wishes to the parents of these teens, and to other parents in Lacey, so that the community can move past this in a constructive manner.

Increasing School Safety Legislation in WA

2010-02-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

Five days a week in Washington, the law says that kids need to get up and go to school. Many of them have a safe trip, many of them don’t. In some areas, kids walk past gang members who are actively recruiting, selling drugs, and/or soliciting. During tough economic times, gang activity increases.

Well, we’re in tough economic times, and some of the state’s hardest hit areas are suffering from economic trouble and epidemic gang problems. For example: in Mattewa, the Wahluke School District, which has approximately 2,000 students, spends $40,000 a year to bus every single child to and from school, because it has been determined that it is too dangerous for the children to walk.

Two Bills have been introduced to provide local schools and school districts with the tools they need to effectively protect students from gang activity at the community level. Time is running out, however, and if these do not pass, another year will go by with some policies being applied inappropriately, and many children not receiving much-needed protection from predatory gang violence.

Until Olympia can figure out how to help these communities end the gang epidemics that many are facing, Olympia needs to make sure that these communities have the tools they need to keep themselves, and their students, safe. Period.

Gang Policies in Schools, Senate Bill 6511, and Increasing School Safety Senate Bill 6512

were passed out of the Senate K-12 and Early Learning Committee, and have passed to the Senate Rules Committee for second reading.

Gang Policies in Schools seeks to standardize definitions and policies so that youth across Washington State receive equal and appropriate experiences in school. It can be extremely challenging for many to determine what is gang culture and bad, and what is youth culture, and is simply self-expression. Further, there is currently some inconsistency between actual gang policy definitions in schools and state law. SB 6511 would correct these issues.
Increasing School Safety is an effort to provide local communities with an effective tool to keep gang members and other predatory criminals away from the area around schools, where these criminals often gather. According to the

Crimes against Children Research Center, more than half of all assaults and other non-family-related crimes occur as the child is walking to and from school. This Bill would allow trained school administrators to respond to threatening situations by issuing an exclusion order, prohibiting the threatening individual from returning to the area around the school for a specific amount of time.

We have been told that this Bill does not have support because these issues are largely taking place in Eastern Washington. We find this very confusing, and want to be sure that the folks in Eastern Washington are aware of this Bills existence, and invite them to speak up.

As a member of the Gangs In Schools Task Force representing the PTA, and as a person who has heard time and again from parents how worried they are for their children and communities, and who has heard from teachers and school staff that they’re sometimes afraid coming and going from school… I have to say that this Bill would serve a valuable purpose.

State-level laws are incredibly difficult to draft, because they need to work for every person in the state. SB 6512 offers a tool to schools across the state, with standards in place, that can be used at the community level. With oversight, to protect freedom of expression and to protect the rights of WA children to receive an education.

SB 6432 - WA Enhanced Intelligence Act

2010-01-29T18:12:00.000-08:00

Members of the Senate Judicial committee,

I’ve reviewed SB 6432, as well as information from DOJ, DHS, EPIC, the ACLU, and various pieces of legislation from other states designed to allow for the effective and appropriate collection of information by law enforcement.

SB 6432 is an intelligent and functional piece of legislation that allows law enforcement to gather information in an appropriate and standardized manner that does not interfere with civil rights. It’s really unfortunate that we need this Bill, but the fact is that we really need this Bill, to protect the civil rights of Washington’s citizens, and to protect the value of information that is collected through diligent and intelligent investigation where investigation is warranted.

We started looking at fusion centers last summer, and now consider associated methods of data collection to be consistently so injurious to crime prevention, and to the legitimacy of real and necessary police work, that we plan to prioritize the issue to our national membership in the coming year.

This Bill can go through the legislature this year, and Washington can be known as one of the states that acknowledged an civil rights problem and dealt with it in an expeditious and progressive manner, or you can wait until there are more lawsuits and awareness has risen to the point that people are wondering “What is going on with our legislators?”

I hope to see that this is through executive committee and on to the next within the next few days. If not, please let me know why so I may relay that information to our Washington membership.

Thank you. I appreciate your time, consideration, and your efforts on behalf of Washington citizens.

Children of Haiti - Restaveks

2010-01-19T14:19:00.000-08:00

Hello – I work for a small non-profit based in Redmond, WA, with members nationwide. I am a citizen of Washington state, and so am sending this email to you, as is appropriate. This is a message, however, that needs to be heard everywhere. It does not originate with me, I’m not the first person to share this message: the message is about slavery.

Right now citizens of the United States and other nations are working around the clock to save Haitians. When we have found, fed, or memorialized every Haitian, there will still be a monumental task ahead of us – turning Haiti into a country that can support itself and thrive. Roads, homes, hospitals, schools, community centers and more are all needed before there can be any expectation that Haitians are on the road to recovery from this profoundly traumatic event, and from years of grinding poverty and violence.

That cannot truly happen while there is an acceptance in Haiti (or with those who have a diplomatic relationship with Haiti) of what is, effectively, slavery. Whatever word applied, children bound to servitude is slavery, and I cannot articulate how distressing their situation is to me, as a person who is free and who is a parent.

At this time,
· There approximately 300,000 restaveks in Haiti
· Only 11% of restaveks receive an education
· Most restaveks are females between 5-15 years of age

There is no mention of rights, oversight, or community expectations dictating treatment of these indentured children. They are typically malnourished, overworked, and neglected emotionally.

This is unnecessary and unacceptable. This pivotal time must function as a catalyst for change, and one essential change is an end to the practice of indenturing children. They are human children. They should know love, affection, and security, whether in an environment of poverty or not. It is not about relative wealth, it is about allowing them to be children.

In this country, and likely elsewhere in the world, there are many adults who want nothing more than to invite children into their homes, and to care for them in constructive and healthy environments. I have heard again and again how difficult it is to adopt children from Haiti, despite the desperate need felt by these children.

As Senators, you have considerably influence. As US citizens, we have considerable privilege. As people who are free, we have considerable obligation to value the freedom of others.

Honestly, I’m very upset. I’m writing this as a mom, as a person who sees an excess of suffering where none is needed, and who values freedom and family above all else.

What do I want to happen? I want the practice of indenturing children to be illegal in Haiti. I want those who currently ‘own’ restaveks to be rewarded financially for turning them over, and to be sentenced to community service if they attempt to refuse. I want those children to be made available for adoption within a system modeled on the Mockingbird Family Model, so that there would be support for the transplanted children and the adoptive parents. I want the whole thing to be organized and implemented by a multi-national committee under whatever international agency you’d like.

There is a lot of misery in the world, but there is typically a lot of parental love as well. There is no parental love for these children. There are many who advocate for them, but Haiti is an island far away, and their voices haven’t been sufficiently heard. We can hear them now, and we must listen and take action.

What action do you intend to take? I hope to hear your answer very soon.

Resources:
The Restavek Foundation: http://www.restavekfreedom.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=cms.home
I too am Haiti: http://www.itooamhaiti.org/
Pan America’s report on children in Haiti: http://www.itooamhaiti.org/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/13583
Mockingbird Society, Mockingbird Family Model: http://www.mockingbirdsociety.org/the-mockingbird-family-model/

Thank you for the work you do in representing the people of Washington.

Bethan Tuttle
Executive Director
Community Watch
http://www.communitywatch.us/

Modeling Good Online Behavior for Our Kids

2009-12-06T18:57:00.000-08:00

Last Summer, my daughter and I were leaving a mall in Bellevue late in the evening. We had a bag of books, a bag of groceries, and a bag of take-out Thai food, and car keys in hand. On the sidewalk surrounding the mall, we passed a person who asked for money, and I said, "No, best of luck to you", waited for traffic to pass, and then crossed to where our car was parked -close by & clearly visible.

My daughter said, "It's good you parked here, because this place is super spooky." We had a brief discussion about why I parked where I did, the bagger at the grocery asking if we'd like an escort to our car, etc. I modeled three safety behaviors and (what I consider) courtesy, without lecturing or freaking out my kid with statistics on women getting mugged near malls.

How do you do that with online behavior?

Incorporating modeling and transparency around a family's online behavior is, in my opinion, very important. We really want to know what they're doing online, and with whom, and yet - do they have any idea what we're doing? Do they see what 'friend requests' we 'ignored,' the fit of anger we let pass prior to answering an upsetting email, or websites we avoid because they seemed sketchy?

Right now I'm sitting at my computer, a fantastic HP Pavilion that I love very much even though it's old. My computer is on the dining table, across from my kids' computers. This is the only place my computer lives when I'm at home, and while I'm working, typing, and reading, I talk:

Check-out this cool website, guys, let's see who made it.

Holy Cow, this person is so rude on Facebook! I'm not going to reply to her comment, because I don't want to encourage her. I hope she's ok, because she's not usually rude.

Hey, please save your stuff and shut down, I need to run updates; I think we have some kind of network issue. Here, you can help me run updates.

Whoa, I have no idea who this text message is from, and it has an attachment; I'm going to delete it without opening it up. Did you know that your phone can get infected the same way the computer can? Crazy.

Ugh! This page is full of advertisements - I thought it was going to be a news article, but clearly that's not their priority. Hey - look what happens when I hover over a link: I can see the preview of the URL it's going to, and it is NOT what it said it would be: this link for "Afghan war" goes to a page with a URL that ends in 'teeth whitening.' That can't be good.

Hey, this website wants to know how much money I make! Why would they need that just so I can check if they have a ___ in stock? I'm looking for the link for their privacy policy, I want to know what they do with my information...

As a parent modeling computer behavior, I am not ideal. I'm online too much, I work too much, and I spend more time on my social network than I do with my friends or extended family. To make up for this deficiency, I admit to it and talk about how work, non-profit work, and my own interests contribute to my over-use of computers. I make sure the kids keep their time online to a reasonable amount, and I make sure they prioritize friends, family, beach trips, and soccer over the fascinations of Fantage, pixeling, and CSS.

Shop Safely this Season

2009-12-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

I love shopping online. Go to my favorite stores, search out what I need, and have it mailed to my home. Even better when you're shopping for someone else - they'll gift wrap and mail it for you! No post office trip needed!
What's not so great are the inevitable scams and phishing attempts that happen online. These are something you can count on, like rain in Seattle, and they're something you can handle easily by remembering a few easy pointers.

Key points for online shopping:

Read the URL - if it doesn't start with "https://", you shouldn't enter any financial or personal information.

Your financial organizations will never ask you to 'click a link' and log in to deal with any issue. If you receive such an email, open a new browser window, go to your financial institutions website, and check for issues. Contact your bank if you have any concerns at all.

Read the privacy policy for the websites you use. By using the website, you may be signing up for more than you expect: marketing emails, usage tracking, and storage of your financial information for later use.

Your Attorney General is your resource for scams and fraud. Visit your Attorney General's website or call them, if you have any questions or concerns.

Kick off your online shopping season by making sure your computers are protected. Follow the guidelines recommended by your operating system manufacturor (for most of you, that's Windows), and by your anti-virus/computer security.

Reminders for offline shopping

Look into fraud protection for your credit/bank cards.

Keep your shopping bags in the trunk where criminals won't see and be tempted.

Review your purchase history online and verify that charges are appropriate. Follow-up immediately with your financial institution if anything looks amiss.

Park close to the mall, in well-lit area, and don't be shy about asking for an escort to your car after dark.

Roads may be bad - take appropriate precautions, and make sure you dress for the weather: Layers! You can leave them in the car, but you'll want them if you get stuck some where.

Cyberbullying-excerpt from December Update

2009-12-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

Cyberbullying - The #1 Online threat to your Kids
What is cyberbullying? It's the same as regular bullying, except it happens via text message, social networks, and email. And it follows your child away from the playground, into the house, into their bedroom - and can follow them all the way to adulthood.

Likely because so many children feel a disconnect between what happens on and off-line, cyberbullying can be more vicious and it can spread much faster. In the news, we've seen some very extreme examples of what cyberbullying can lead to. At CommunityWatch we've talked to a lot of worried parents who want to know what to do about it.

Prevent and deal with cyberbullying:

Most important! - Don't let your kids use digital communication in their bedrooms. Cell phones, lap tops, netbooks - anything that can text, instant message, or email needs to stay in a public part of the house like the kitchen or dining room, where your kid has some oversight. Do not let your kids keep their cell phone in their bedroom at night.

Talk to them about their computer/phone use, and ask questions about who they're communicating with, what social networks they use, and -even if they're teenagers- know their user-names and passwords.

Talk about reputation - kids who bully will have a damaged reputation when word gets out, and kids who post personal information online run the risk of having that information come back and embarass them. If they wouldn't say it in front of the entire school, then they shouldn't say it online, even in a 'private' email or text message.

Sexting - ugh. You have a 9 year old? You may still need to deal with this. Kids of all ages are getting pressured into taking inappropriate pictures of themselves and sending them to 'friends.' Talk to your kids about reputation, stress appropriate boundaries, and ask your kids if a friend would really ask them to do something so damaging. Remember, too, that teenagers are going to jail and getting registered as sex-offenders for having these images on their phone/computer.

If you suspect any cyberbullying is going on, follow-up immediately, and don't let it go until you have resolution. Be tenacious, calm, and let your kid know you are on their side, period (even if they are the ones bullying - you'll help them find the right path).

For more information on cyberbullying, you can visit NetSmartz and GetGameSmart.

12 Computer-use Rules for Kids

2009-11-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

Use parental controls. It's difficult enough with software, and nearly impossible without. MS makes a free, easy to use product: http://download.live.com/familysafety
Computers should be kept/used in a central location like the dining room or kitchen table, where there is family activity.
Kids should not keep cell phones in their rooms overnight. 24 hour access to text/email/Internet is too much.
Monitor their traffic - how many texts and to whom? What websites visited? Let them know you track it.
Kids should not expect to keep online activity private from parents. All digital communication is fair-game.
Discuss reputation - photographs taken and statements made NEVER go away. Poor judgement as a child online can follow them through life.
Talk to your kids about websites they like to visit, and which of their friends also use those websites.
If your kids use social networking sites, set the privacy settings so only friends can view their updates/information, and make sure you're always on their 'friend' list.
Know their passwords - all of them.
Let your kids know what qualifies as personal information*, and that personal information NEVER goes online, in texts, or in emails.
Be calm no matter what your kids tell you they saw or read online. You freaking out means they are much less likely to come to you with these issues in the future. Don't threaten their access to the internet/communication, or they may not tell you when they need help.
Make sure your kids understand why they should never arrange to meet people from the internet without including you in their arrangements, and without taking along a friend, meeting in a well-lit, public place, etc.

*Personal information is anything that can be used to identify or locate a person - financial information, address, ID numbers, etc.

Private property - respect for privacy

2009-10-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1790464 - Naked guy in his own home, viewed by parent and child who were walking on his property - he faces charges.

In order for sex crime legislation to have any credibility, it needs to be interpreted with some credibility.

Clearly, those laws were not written with the purpose of stopping people from being naked in private - and when you're inside a home on your own property, you're in private.

Further, we need to differentiate between nudity (which is not a bad thing) and obscenity or predatory exposure, because they're very different and they need to be treated very differently.

Justice and the Bar

2009-10-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

One of the projects CommunityWatch has had for a few years is working with the Washington State Bar Association to correct their process for dealing with criminal charges against members of the Bar. They're a large organization with complicated bylaws, and change takes time.

It's worth it, though, to ensure that we can have some measure of faith in the value and integrity of the Bar, and in the justice that is delivered to us through members of the Bar.

Members of the Bar are human, and cannot be expected to be other than human, with human weaknesses. There is one thing that separates members of the Bar from the rest of us: our justice is delivered through them. Will we go to prison or will the charges be dropped? Are the charges even legitimate? How can you tell? What are your rights - do you know? What does justice look like? Will you recognize it when it's presented to you as an option requiring an immediate decision?

Justice is the voice of the Constitution articulated from a distance of hundreds of years, and colored by thousands of trials and recorded decisions. Just is not the same as fair, it's not always pleasant, and the path to justice is not necessarily straight and simple.

Citizens of the US and of WA cannot hope to naviage the complexities of the justice system without assistance, and for that assistance we must rely on and trust in the intellect, courage, and integrity of members of the Bar, and of the Bar itself.

Think your child is being abused?

2009-10-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

It's not enough to know that your child is being abused - you need to take steps to make sure the 'evidence' is credible and gets to the right group of people.

Keep a notebook of dates, times, and instances that warranted concern. Start at the first occurance of something that seemed wrong or inappropriate, and note down everything from that point forward. If there seems to be a correlation between phone calls, unaccompanied visits, or play dates, make a note of those too.
Be as factual and non-accusatory as possible. Your job is to advocate for your child, and it is important to convey facts, not emotion and angst.
If you believe that a crime has been committed against your child, it is your right and your obligation to seek assistance from the police. Do them a favor and provide as much information as possible, which is why your notebook and your factual communication are so important. If you have reports from your child's counselor or pediatrician, take that along as well.
Make sure your child knows -

That you love them no matter what, always & forever
That they won't get in trouble for something an adult or older kid does
That they have the right to feel safe, to have their private areas left alone, and to ask for help

Share stories with your child about events that happened to you that made you feel ashamed, scared, vulnerable, and alone, and talk about how you received help.
If there is a related divorce taking place, acquire the services of a Guardian ad litem, or similar, to be the voice of your child in court.

You can learn more at CommunityWatch.us. Good luck to you and your child/ren.

Free Range Kidlets

2009-10-15T06:29:00.000-07:00

When we started the non-profit in 2006, we were told that children were at extreme risk from strangers, and that thousands and thousands of kids go missing every single day in the US. We had law enforcement, safety experts, and children's books expound on these two ideas, and we were pretty sure it was our job to let parents know that, too.

We were wrong, and we figured it out pretty quick, thankfully.

We want our kids to be safe, to grow up safe, and to learn how to keep themself safe so they're prepared for any situation. The skills they need to do that are like a toolbox, and one of the most important tools in that box is CONFIDENCE.

How do you give your kid confidence? It's pretty simple. You 1) teach your kid what they need to know, 2) let them loose in the appropriate environments, and you 3) absolutely support them.
Teaching your kid what they need to know means that you need to know it. Not be oblivious, not be overly scared yourself. It might be different in one neighborhood than in another, different for one kid than another. Some things don't change: Kids need to travel in pairs of 2 or more. Kids need to know what appropriate behavior is and is not. Kids need to know how to ask for help - from a stranger or from a family member.

The appropirate environment is not so easy to determine, but there are some ways to do it. One of our favorites is Gavin de Becker's Test of Twelve. When your kid is very tiny, start teaching toward this test, and maybe your kid will be ready to go around the neighborhood when they're 11. Or 8. It depends on you and your kid and your neighborhood.

This is difficult for another reason - a lot of parents were assaulted as kids. Might be difficult to make a non-emotional decision about it if you know that when you were 9 you were assaulted at the park, and never told your parents because you didn't want to lose your freedom. I hear stories like that every week or so. The only answer I have for that is - Go with your kid around the neighborhood - be free range with your kid. Develop a sense of what's normal for the park at 2:30 pm, or for 8:30 am. Know your neighbors, and know your kid has confidence in his or her neighborhood and ability to travel around the neighborhood.

And that last one - support them. If something happens -anything- then you need to be calm, supportive, and listen to your kid.

Your kid is most at-risk from cars, poorly adjusted car-seats, and no bike-helmet, not from perverted strangers. Make sure the topic is on the table, make sure your kids know you'll be calm and trust them as needed, and make sure they have the appropriate safety gear and security training. Let them loose.

Here's a link to a blog that's all free range, all the time - some perspective: Free-Range Kids.

Barring RSOs from attending Church

2009-10-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

Banning RSOs from attending Church in North Carolina

What is the expected, constructive result of legislation banning RSOs from attending church? Even from banning RSOs from being within 300 feet of any location that has the primary purpose of dealing with minors - What is the expected goal?

The fact is that the US is tagging a lot of people as RSOs, and they do have to live somewhere. You cannot reasonably expect them to live outside a 300-1000 foot range of every church, preschool, day care, public school, bus stop, or private school in any given city, town, or unincorporated area. What that would bring you would be a lot of unstable, homeless, RSOs living under bridges or in their car, parked in the lot near the local playground.

Many areas have Community Protection Zones that intelligently prohibit level 3 offenders (the most predatory, with a very high risk of re-offense) from living within a certain distance of, for instance, public schools.

This idea of "Not in my back yard" is not a good idea. You're not doing your community a favor by trying to force RSOs to live 'elsewhere.' There is no 'elsewhere' - someone is going to have to deal with the issue, and by passing these laws, people are essentially foisting the issue onto someone else, likely someone who doesn't have the means to monitor the safety of their kids/community as effectively.

Please remember- the vast majority of sexual assaults are not committed by RSOs - they're committed by uncaught, unidentified offenders who have established positions in your community. Teach your kids to be safe and they'll be safe just about anywhere, whether RSOs are allowed in the same church or not.

TN - accusation of selling a kid was bogus - so what happened?

2009-10-06T15:18:00.001-07:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp=33196533&#33196533

Infant was snatched from the home (extraordinarily rare, btw). Un-named informant accuses parents of trying to sell the infant, and essentially staging an abduction. On the basis of that accusation, all of the children are removed from their home for a week. A week.

Were these children kept together? Did they have access to a qualified counselor? Did they get to visit with their parents? Was there a directive that determining the truth of that accusation be prioritized so those children could be returned to their family? Should they even have been taken? If you don't have enough to arrest the parent, do you have enough to remove the child?

I don't know the answers to these questions. I do know that someone in TN is obligated to have the answers to these questions, and should provide those answers without being asked.

When the government imposes itself into the relationship between a parent and child, it obligates itself to the fulleset possible extent. It obligates itself to the welfare of the child, to the demands of justice, and to absolute transparency.

What are these people thinking? Really?

2009-09-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

Roman Polanski did something terrible to a child in the 70s and then he ran away from his agreed-upon consequence. I'm not French, I'm not Swiss, so I can't speak to what they were thinking to not extradite him until now.

I don't know what people are thinking when they shake Roman Polanski's hand or say that his achievements and contributions to 'art' should weigh against his crime. When they applauded his Oscar win at the Academy Awards. Of course, he couldn't accept it in person because he can't come to the US without going to prison for sexually assaulting a child.

He makes good movies. Whoopi Goldberg is not pleased that he may go to jail, apparently. I'm not an actor, and I'm sure as hell not Whoopi Goldberg, so I have no idea what she's thinking.

I don't know what sexual assault survivors are thinking when they see that happen, either. They likely also don't understand what is essentially inexplicable - applaud a guy who plied a 13 year old with drugs and alcohol and then had sex with her. This guy (Polanski) did it, and all those important/famous people know it, and are applauding him anyway. How does that work?

I don't care how old he is, I don't care how good his movies are. What do I know? He sexually assaulted a kid - I wouldn't shake his hand, I won't watch his movies, I don't think his contributions to art or anything could outweigh his crime. Justice doesn't work that way. I want him in jail.

/bethan rant

Sex Offender Registry laws

2009-09-23T05:41:00.000-07:00

I believe we need a national sex offender management system. Some of the people walking free in the US are sexually violent and are not interested in or capable of reform, and the odds that they will re-commit are extremely high.

I believe the registry needs to look very different than what we have now. I'm not going to go into the flaws of the current registries, because every state has a different program, and those programs are of different sizes and very varied.

They have some commonalities: they're mandated by federal law, they have tremendous popular support, and they don't appear effective.

Good to know -

Most sex crimes don't result in a conviction, so no sex offender to register
Most sex crimes are not committed by a registered sex offender (RSO)
A distressing number of the people on the RSO lists committed a statutory crime. Some of them were convicted of things like public urination.
Most RSOs are not monitored at all. They just have to report on their movements and check in on some schedule, and they are restricted from living in certain areas.
The RSO lists treat all the same - an 18 year old with a 16 year old girl friend is very likely to get the same requirement and duration on the list as a pedophile.

What needs to happen? We need to standardize and correct.

Registration duration and level needs to be based on such factors as severity of crime, the predatory aspect of the crime, the criminal history, and the treatment history.
Statutory crimes where the law is grey need to be disqualified from inclusion on the lists (ex: 19 year old with a 17 year old, both with normal intelligence, etc.,)
Crimes of escalation should receive different registration requirements and durations, as there may be potential to rehabilitate before the person becomes a full-fledged pedophile/outcast
Level 3 offenders -repeating, highly predatory, resistant to therapy- should get a gps cuff
Those currently on the RSO list in every state need to be provided with a method of getting off the list based on panel review, with a secondary review of their decisions
The registry needs to be updated at the local level and maintained at the national level, and access needs to be restricted on a need to know basis.

Things to remember:

Sex offenders have cars and bus passes, and -if they're intending to commit another predatory crime- they are fully willing to drive out of their neighborhood to do so. Placing physical restrictions on where they can live does not seem to work, and it does seem to provide a false sense of security to many.
Sex offenders have civil rights, and when you start to see that they don't, that they've been entirely marginalized in their community and by society, then something is going wrong. Every restrictive law is an articulation between the rights of one entity and the rights of another, in light of the given scenario.
Not all sex offenders are the same, and some can be rehabilitated.

I have no sympathy for predators, no matter the source of their illness. Not all RSOs are predators.

The registry was clearly intended to track those who are and may continue to be a danger to society, and too many RSOs are not a danger to society and never were. In order to function effectively and justly, we need a fix.

Another post on kids & social networks

2009-09-21T05:35:00.001-07:00

Girl commits suicide after extended periods of bullying online, and apparently at her school as well.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/sep/20/facebook-bullying-holly-grogan-suicide

I am very sorry for the family and friends of this girl. I can only imagine the tremendous devastation they must feel.

This is the second suicide, that I'm aware of, that stems in some part from on-line bullying.

Children can be vicious and tenacious, and online they don't have the sense of potential consequences that they do IRL. Mostly because they don't see a lot of parental authority online.

Young kids and tweens need to be monitored online. Most parents I talk to don't have parental controls installed, and if they do- they're switched off.

If you don't have parental controls installed, or you don't think you're going to use what you have now, try this one - I've been using it for a few years, and it works really well.

Download it here: http://download.live.com/familysafety

Directions for using the software, such as managing the contacts, the web filtering, and the reports http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/en-US/Help/5ddc1ec9-5d4f-4288-a62d-4128c3dd0c561033.mspx#EEC

Good kid resources for bullying - list of links here that talk about different kinds of online safety, from bullies and social pressure to predators: http://www.communitywatch.us/ncmec.htm

Before you let your kids go online again, please talk to them about appropriate behavior online, let them know that you have their back (however you phrase it).

They need to understand that you having their back may mean a) you showing up at their school to get a sense of what the dynamic is b) you reading their email and trolling their favorite websites, c) you binging/googling their usernames so you can see what may not be showing up in the report, d) you not backing down from an emotional confrontation about such painful topics as popularity, bullying, etc.

We have those discussions and confrontations in this house, because it's part of parenting a child who was raised with online social networking. Do you call your kid on their behavior at a holiday function? A party? This is the same - you have to be a part of their online social network because you're a parent/guardian, and your kid is a ... kid, whether they're 7 or 17.

2009-09-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Linda at ilookbothways
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/28257.wss

excerpt:

According to the report, there has been a 508 percent increase in the number of new malicious Web links discovered in the first half of 2009. This problem is no longer limited to malicious domains or untrusted Web sites. The X-Force report notes an increase in the presence of malicious content on trusted sites, including popular search engines, blogs, bulletin boards, personal Web sites, online magazines and mainstream news sites. The ability to gain access and manipulate data remains the primary consequence of vulnerability exploitations.

Official results

2009-09-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

These are the poll results -
We had low voter turnout for general members. As a result of this, we are going to find a general member to represent the other general members, and that person will hold a board position. This will be discussed more at a later date, and will be decided on before the next platform vote.

Legislation:
None of the legislative proposals were voted off.
Legislative priorities in order of effort they will receive:

Offenders Coaching Kids
Increased Penalty Zones
Felony exposure
Ownership of Children's images

Offenders Coaching Kids and Increased Penalty Zones will get the majority of our time; the other two efforts are likely to be multi-year projects.

Requests were also made for legislative support around foster care issues (always a priority for Bethan).

Education/Outreach:
Education/Outreach effort in order of prioritization:

Votes were split evenly, 4-4, between Online Education and In-Class materials
A small number of general members and Board members bypassed this vote in favor of requesting that we spend more time on legislation.

Communication
Communication preferences as prioritized:

Majority went to monthy emails
RSS off blog and weekly-email summary tied for second, 2-2
Members requested message board, so we built one, linked to website.
Majority of Board was interested in quarterly general meetings
Local membership was interested in regular meetings; many members are distant

Poll results for 2009/2010 work

2009-09-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

Results are in for the 2009/2010 Work member-vote, for priorities in the coming year:

Legislative proposals
Education/Outreach
Communication with members

Legislation
By far the most support went to the "Offenders Coaching Kids" proposal. this proposal would have the result of registered offenders no longer being allowed to act as coaches to minors or vulnerable classes of people.

Non-Legislation Work - Education and Outreach
Many left a comment instead of voting, along the lines of "Spend more time on legislation" or "Provide more education at large events." We'll take those suggestions into consideration.

Communication
We have many members and supporters, and we need good ways to get the message out to you! We asked, and some of you answered:

You can discuss these results at the message board over at CommunityWatch - the link is on the home page. Members received an email a few days ago with the phrase needed for access and registration.

Prepare for Winter

2009-09-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

The windows are open, the birds are flying around, I'm wearing shorts.

This is all very good, but the trees are starting to change color, and I'm remembering last November when the weather turned nasty and some woman attempted to buy every battery available at the local grocery. Thankfully, I was there for bread, and there were a few loaves left. Score.

At any given time, you should have food and hygiene supplies for three days and water and medicine/first aid for a week. If you live in a region or climate that has severe storm weather, you should try to have common-use supplies (your regular foods) for a week, and long lasting rations (rice, canned food, powdered milk, etc.) for up to 2 weeks.

This is pretty easy to do - the main blocks for most people are cost, space, and motivation.

Cost - do a little at a time over a few weeks. Buying dried pasta? Buy a bag or two more than usual. Buy an extra half-gallon of milk and put it in the freezer. Buy your regular bread, and then buy a box of low-cost whole wheat crackers to substitute for bread as needed.
Space - you need to find it. Food lasts longer in dry, mid-temperature spaces. You can store it in stacking plastic bins, a lockable closet in the garage, or in the converted bedroom/office closet.
Motivation - One good storm, and the interstates are closed, the groceries are empty, and the lights are off. Just think about leaving your kids in the dark living room under a pile of blankets while you go and ask your cranky neighbor if he has a loaf of bread you can buy.

Resources

Ready.gov - this one has stuff for kids, too!
FEMA
US Dept of Health and Human Services
US Center for Disease Control
American Red Cross - Prepare your Home and Family

In a natural disaster, like an earthquake, flood, or volanic eruption, emergency services may be unavailable, and the community may not behave as nicely as usual. If your home is safe, stay home and lock your doors. Talk to your kids about what's going on, and let them know that you have a plan and supplies.

Check with your kids' school and find out what their policy is on releasing kids to parents/guardians during emergencies - some states have laws allowing schools to retain children if they feel it is safer to do so.
Visit your city/town's website and see what information they have about community preparation for disasters. If you city/town doesn't provide that information on the website, call city hall, or visit the county or state website.

Poll / Vote on work for 2009/2010

2009-09-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

Vote Now

Page 1 - introduces the ballot
Page 2 - what should be on the platform?
Page 3 - prioritize the platform
Page 4 - how should CommunityWatch communicate?
Page 5 - thank you!

Vote here <- that's the link!

This is the general poll for feedback. If you want to vote in the legal, official poll, please log into the big tent 'vote now' forum.

Security vs. Privacy

2009-05-08T06:18:00.001-07:00

Never thought you'd see me pit those two things against each other? That's because, perfect world, those two things complement each other. Real world, there's some conflict.

As individuals, we use security systems, whether anti-virus or shredder, to protect our privacy.

As a government, there's some conflict - Congress creates legislation to protect our privacy and they create legislation providing themselves with loopholes for why those laws doesn't apply to the government (hello, Patriot Act).

Here's a great article on the issue of security vs. privacy. I'm not a regular reader of the Huffington Post, but I am a regular reader of schneier.com/blog. Schneier posted this article this morning, along with this excerpt.

Marc Rotenberg on Security vs. Privacy:

In the modern era, the right of privacy represents a vast array of rights that include clear legal standards, government accountability, judicial oversight, the design of techniques that are minimally intrusive and the respect for the dignity and autonomy of individuals.

The choice that we are being asked to make is not simply whether to reduce our expectation of privacy, but whether to reduce the rule of law, whether to diminish the role of the judiciary, whether to cast a shroud of secrecy over the decisions made by government.

In other words, we are being asked to become something other than the strong America that could promote innovation and safeguard privacy that could protect the country and its Constitutional traditions. We are being asked to become a weak nation that accepts surveillance without accountability that cannot defend both security and freedom.

That is a position we must reject. If we agree to reduce our expectation of privacy, we will erode our Constitutional democracy.

Link to Huffington Post article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-rotenberg/privacy-vs-security-pr_b_71806.html?view=print

Assorted

2009-05-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

Facebook goodness: "Walking the Cyberbeat"

one of some 150 people the young company employs to keep the site clean—out of a total head count of 850. Facebook describes these staffers as an internal police force, charged with regulating users' decorum, hunting spammers and working with actual law-enforcement agencies to help solve crimes. Part hall monitors, part vice cops, these employees are key weapons in Facebook's efforts to maintain its image as a place that's safe for corporate advertisers—more so than predecessor social networks like Friendster and MySpace.

Here's an article on recommended settings for your, or your kids', facebook account:http://spylogic.net/downloads/Facebook_Privacy_and_Security_Guide.pdf
--
I have no idea how many people subscribe to the feed on this blog.

Much of this is also posted over at bigtent.
--
Justice Scalia made an errant comment about privacy online, and has gotten some flack about it.

Here is a clearly intelligent guy who didn't realize how much personal information is available online. Prior to providing his opinion, he should have checked with one of his clerks.

Article from the ABA Journal: http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/fordham_law_class_collects_scalia_info_justice_is_steamed

Good practice - periodically search your user names in a few search engines, not just google. Make sure you can see what is cached, too, as it often will provide some surprising gems.

Look yourself up in the online white pages, pay $20 to see what a base-level back ground check shows about you, and find out how much information about your location is available through sites like zillow.

If you find any information about yourself that could be used to determine your residence, access your credit/financial, etc., the website should prominently display a method of removing that information.

For instance, on the bottom of the msn.whitepages.com, there's a link that says, "Is this you? Remove your listing"

Along the very bottom of the page, or somewhere else easy to find, there should be a link to a privacy page, which has their privacy policy. Information removal instructions may also be located there.

If you do not easily find the instructions for removing this information, contact your Attorney General's office, and let them know about your concerns. http://www.naag.org/.

Big Tent

2009-05-02T08:19:00.001-07:00

Really glad to see people posting a wee bit at our bigtent community.

If you'd like more information about our bigtent CommunityWatch space, you can visit the public page: https://www.bigtent.com/groups/comwatch

Safe & Secure class at PTA Convention

2009-05-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

For parents in WA, many of you know that this is the weekend of the Spring PTA conference. I was pleased to see several classes available on security issues - one of them was ours!

A detective from the Bellevue PD, and the lead educator from the King County SARC, provided some great information on real crime, how to avoid it, and how to talk to kids about the life skills and common sense needed to avoid crime.

Our goal with these classes is to offer a tool box to parents and care-givers, so that they walk away with more ability to safeguard their kids, and the empowerment to know that they can.

Thanks to the Bellevue PD and KSARC for providing these excellent speakers and dedicated professionals.

This class was also to raise awareness of the Take 25 campaign, which works to reduce the number of children victimized by abuse. "Take 25, Make time to talk about child safety," is a simple, easy, and essential message for care-givers to receive. 25 minutes is all it takes to provide a kid with information about a situation, and it may make a tremendous difference in that kid's life.

Take 25 materials were available for the class and conference attendees, in Spanish and English, as well as NetSmartz posters and brochures. We ran out, which is GREAT!

bad news

2009-04-07T05:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.crimeweb.net/details.asp?id=14590

Thoughts and Prayers for Sandra, her family, and their community.

Washington: Closing the OSPI Safety Center?!

2009-04-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

It has come to our attention that OSPI’s School Safety Center’s budget has been cut in both the House and Senate budget proposals.

CommunityWatch is appalled, and would like to know how the Legislature proposes to coordinate the safety and security of thousands of children across the state without this central office.

In Washington, as elsewhere in this country, children are required to attend school. To that end, each morning in Washington, thousands and thousands of kids head out the door and make their way to schools. On their way to and from school, many of our children avoid gang members, child predators, and poorly driven cars.

When they’re at school, they’re required to deal with fire drills and lock-down drills. There’s a law in place addressing whether or not the school will release children to parents/guardians in the event of a disaster. Wow – can you imagine the school not giving you your kid after an earthquake? I can’t.

This is policy ownership at a huge level. They’ve entrusted the schools of Washington with the power of determining whether you should have the care of your child after a natural disaster, but they’re now planning to revoke the budget of the Safety Center that would coordinate the training for disaster recovery. Where does that leave your child should a natural disaster occur?

This is unacceptable, and it’s a waste of money. What the state needs is

-> A central Safety Center education website with current information on crime prevention for predatory crime, gang crime, drugs, and solicitation

-> A state-level safety/security policy center that maintains high standards across the state, and maintains a website clearly stating what those policies are

-> A small group of expert and dedicated people who are able to provide training and support for edge case situations, and to detect trends in safety and security risks

We have this; it’s called the Safety Center. Let’s not get rid of it.

The option is to decentralize the security and safety policies and actions of school districts state-wide, creating inconsistent and (most likely) inequitable experiences for children and communities, duplicating cost, and reducing over-all efficacy.

We are entering a period where economic depression and uncertainty will cause more risks to the children of our State’s schools, and when our schools will need more centralized support for safety and security issues. The Government of Washington requires that our children attend school, and for this reason alone they have the obligation of ensuring the security and safety of our children while they are in school.

Please join with CommunityWatch in asking the members of the House and Senate to leave the Safety Center budget in place.

WA SB 5832 - Extending the SOL on CSA

2009-04-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

WA SB 5832, extending the statute of limitation on CSA has passed through the House (97-0!), and is on the way to the Governor's desk!

Please email the Governor and let her know why you support this bill.

I'd like to say "Thank You" to Don Brockett for his inspirational dedication to this effort.

Many people step up to fight for a legislative cause, and many people slow or stop the fight after the first year; most stop after the second year, and very few continue on into the third and subsequent years.

Don has held true to his commitment and beliefs for much longer than that. I truly believe that we would not have this bill on the way to the Governor's office right now if it weren't for Don and his absolute determination.

And now I'm knocking on wood - don't want to jinx it! Email the Governor!

SB 5832 in Rules!

2009-03-26T07:14:00.000-07:00

ACTION In Washington - Contact your legislator! Is your legislator on the House Rules Committee? Call!

Senate Bill 5832 - Allowing the prosecution of sex offenses against minor victims until the victim's twenty-eighth birthday if the offense is listed in RCW 9A.04.080(1) (b)(iii)(A) or (c).

After three years, we know that good bills often die in well-intended committees! Call your legislators and ask them to support this bill! Let them know we'll be following-up to see who said nice things but did nothing, and who actively worked to bring justice to the victims of child sexual assault.

If you prefer to email, or if you want to organize your community and do some dedicated and polite emailing, you can use this link: All member list. If you go that route, please be polite and don't spam.

Testimony on Behalf of WA SB 5832

2009-03-17T23:10:00.000-07:00

Last year, our membership told us that the Statutes of Limitation for Child Sexual Assault was a priority for them. We were told that they (SOL on CSA) were too complicated, they weren’t long enough, they weren’t fair, and they weren’t realistic.

We spent a considerable number of hours over March and April of 2008 learning enough to form a reasonable opinion. We spoke with social workers who work with child victims, memory researchers, psychologist child trauma specialists, law school teachers, police officers, legislators, adult survivors of CSA, and defense lawyers. We went out and learned, and came back and worked through it all, and formed an opinion.

What do we know?

We know that, according to the DOJ, in 2007 67% of all reported sex crimes were committed upon minors. 14% of all reported sex crimes were committed upon children under 6. The Crimes against Children Research Center has stated that the crime is likely very under-reported.

We know that most victims of CSA were abused by their father or a close male authority figure.

We know that victims of CSA are raised in dysfunctional environments, often with more issues than just the CSA.

We know that predators work to create an environment where kids tolerate and/or accept the abuse, because of threats or training.

We know that children who are abused by one person are much more likely to be abused by another person. It’s called polyvictimization, and it’s something dealt with by foster kids, and by children who have been trained to think that sexual exploitation is normal.

We know that these children often feel tremendous shame for what was done to them, and what they want more than anything else is to feel safe and secured from the constant risk that is their life.

We know that these children are likely to have issues with authority, to be self-destructive, to have post traumatic stress disorder, to tolerate abuse because abuse and love aren’t dissimilar to them.

We know that therapy, depending on the age of onset, duration, and extremity of abuse, may take two years or 20 years to achieve a ‘healthy’ emotional balance.

And we expect them to overcome all of this in the three years between 18 and 21?

The Statutes of Limitations, as they stand, are not just. They do not serve justice.

The current SOL on CSA are not reasonable. SB 5832 shows reason. SB 5832 provides more time to achieve economic independence, social independence, and therapy, so that the child may mature and safely report.

For our community, for the children of our community, we ask you to move SB 5832 forward. We ask you to actively support SB 5832 as it makes its way through the house and is signed into law.

Sexting - Bethan is on a tirade

2009-03-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:
Sexting (a portmanteau of sex and texting) is the act of sending sexually explicit photos electronically, primarily between cell phones. It is practiced primarily by young adults, though it is known to occur amongst children as young as middle-school age.

MSNBC Article on Sexting: Teen ‘sexting’: Youthful prank or sex crime?

When you're thinking about sex crime legislation, especially with regard to how it may apply to minors - take a minute to contemplate how you would feel if it was applied to your child. We know our kids, and most of us are not compulsive apologists for our beloved sociopathic offspring - we can be honest about theoretical situations, right?

So, theoretically, your kid, Jane, gets caught at school with a naked picture of 17 year old John on her phone. What's a reasonable consequence for Jane? Prison? 25 years of mandatory offender reporting, potentially having to move out of your house because your other children are minors?

Applying child pornography laws to consensual sexting is ludicrous. Because - remember, please- we have laws that say teenagers within a certain age range of each other CAN consent to acts committed with each other, so long as they are both unimpaired. If those laws can apply to the actual act of sex, then they should apply to a teenage girl sending her boyfriend a naked pic via text message.

We need legislation to reflect the spectrum of stupidity represented by sexting, rather than apply consequences that were written for something entirely different.

Because child pornography is different than sexting. In my opinion, charging someone with possession/distribution of child porn for consensual sexting is a gross misrepresentation of justice, and diminishes the horrific criminality of those who have actually sexually exploited children for profit.

When is sexting something other than sexting?

Guy takes a pic of his girlfriend when she's sleeping, and sells copies of the image to his friends, or in any way distributes it to a wide group of people, texting or otherwise.
Minor girl decides that selling naked pics of herself is a better way to make money than the local fast food place, and uses her phone to distribute the images.
Younger or impaired minor is photographed by significantly older person, or non-impaired peer. Younger/impaired person is not able to provide consent, so this is exploitation.

I'm sure there are more. I'm endlessly surprised at people's creativity with breaking the law. The point is that the preceding three scenarios are something other than sexting - they're exploitive and/or illegal acts all on their own.

Technology is wonderful thing, and there's no doubt that it's changing society. There are some things that have not changed, however, and I'd like to list them here:

They're teenagers - they will, in some way at some time, be indiscreet, juvenile, and maybe even brutally mean. It will almost certainly pass.
The cell phone is one more tool, in an age-old list of tools, with which teenagers will be stupid.
I can't find privacy mentioned in the Bill of Rights. This may be an indicator that your kids don't have a right to privacy, especially where their ability to wreak massive amounts of havoc are concerned. Let them know you will look through their phone and internet records. And then - look through their phone and internet records. Really.

Common sense. That's what we're going for. Technology is a wonderful thing, and it's developing at a remarkable rate. Parents really need to keep up.

Check out Linda Criddle's website, Look Both Ways.

Updates

2008-12-11T07:01:00.001-08:00

CAP will be partnering with Foster Care Alumni of America in January.

Foster children account for a disproportionate number of abuse and exploitation reports in our society, and a tremendous number of children are in the foster system in the US. In Washington state alone, the number averages 11,000 at any given time.

The issue of abuse and exploitation of children in the foster care system is our primary motivator for Safe Child project. Initially, we wanted a mandatory curricula just for foster kids - by law, they would have to be taught their rights and how to safeguard their rights immediately upon being removed from their home. Logistically, however, that's extremely difficult. So we thought - well, let's take it to every single kid in the state, and make it logistically simple and huge, instead.

We're looking forward to working with the FCAA to improve the situation of foster children through security education and empowerment. Also, we just LOVE what the FCAA is trying to do. The Reunion was an incredibly inspirational idea, and we were very sorry to have missed it.

We're blogging about it beforehand to give you all the opportunity to provide feedback on our decision before we actually do it.

Community

2008-12-11T06:44:00.001-08:00

I'm excited to meet Maggie from NCMEC today, and spend the day getting to know her and working on Take 25/Safe Child projects for 2009.

There are two ways [from my perspective] to really make a difference with Take 25. One, you can go to Take 25's website and get ideas for a single event, or a series of events, log them into the Take 25 website and they'll send you distribution materials [bookmarks, tip sheets, magnets...], and then have your event! It's a great feeling to contribute to the community, and it's easier than pie.

The second way to make a difference with Take 25 is to build consensus

that Take 25 is important.
that the message and information contained in those distribution materials is necessary, and
that not only should an organization sponsor or host an event, they should consider implementing changes into their existing policies that reinforce the safety of their community
at every level available to the planner - church, community center, school, employer, city, or state.

That is what Safe Child Week is about. There's not a state or community in the country that doesn't need some child security education - I am very sure of that. You can bring it to the community you live in.

Changes at CAP

2008-12-06T15:08:00.001-08:00

CAP is moving from a c4 to a c3 nonprofit [we'll let you know as soon as we get approved - you'll hear the screeches of joy across the country], which requires that we shift the org's structure a bit.

Each chapter's website is moving to cap-usa/state_name. We're doing that via automatic redirect, so you don't need to update your bookmarks. The vast majority of education materials will be organized at www.communitywatch.us. If some piece of education is primarily for one state, then it will be on that state's site and on the Community Watch site.

The whole org, all three small chapters [and growing ;-)], will share the same advisory board, but the state directors have near-complete autonomy, so long as they follow the by laws and mission statement and listen to their local members.

The shop, links for donations, and ability to join as a maintainer will all be up and running sometime in January.

Community Watch is a work in progress. It will be a better product if we get some feedback. PlayGround Watch is coming in 2009.

And - you can probably tell that we could use some help. Do you have project or program management skills? About ten hours a month free? Dedication and stick-to-itness? Please send us an email.

December Wash-CAP update

2008-12-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

We've been very busy at Communities Against Predators - there's a lot to read:

We have a new safety website up at http://www.communitywatch.us/ - it's a work-in-progress, but there's some great information there, so check it out and tell your friends!

We're building a Board of Advisors: representatives from communities and organizations will help guide our goals and decisions. If you have someone in mind for consideration, please let us know!

Two membership levels will be available as of January 1st - Supporters and Maintainers.
>Supporters - are showing their support of our effort. We ask for name and zip, plus school or legislative district. You can opt into our Action Alerts and/or Updates, or not. All information provided is kept entirely private.
>Maintainers - are showing their support and helping us carry it forward with a membership cost of $10 per year. Maintainers also share a seat on our Board of Advisors, and thus get to collectively vote [simple majority] on our yearly agenda.
**NOTE! - we don't want anyone distracted from holiday donations, so please do not send us any money now. Food banks, Giving Trees, the Salvation Army, and your local shelters are all great places help out this season.

Maggie, from the Take 25 program at NCMEC, is visiting next week, Thursday December 11. Join us for a brain-storming session Thursday morning, with coffee, pastries, and some great company, to help plan Safe Child Week 2009! Wash-CAP had great success with Safe Child Week 2008:
>Governor's Proclamation of Safe Child Week from May 19-25, 2008
>TV coverage on KOMO 4 news
>Take 25 materials in libraries across the state in May
>Collaborative efforts with the Missing and Exploited Children's Task Force for WA
>Public Service Announcements from the Attorney General's office
>and more...
*If you'd like to come to the planning meeting, reply back and I'll let you know exactly when and where! Bring a friend!
**Also, NCMEC doesn't have an office up here in the North West - let's show them some dedicated citizenry!

We're working on a few bills for this coming session, please let your legislators know what you think about them:
>Statute of Limitations on Felony Sex Crimes against Children - we think it should be lengthened.
>Indecent Exposure with Sexual Intent - we think it should be more than a misdemeanor [jay walking is a misdemeanor...].
>Increased Penalty Zones around schools and bus stops - we think there should be IPZs around them, and the PTA agrees!
>Safe Child Legislation - do children in Washington have rights? What are they, exactly? We think it should be articulated.

OK! That's all I've got for now. We really hope to see many of you next Thursday morning [December 11], to give Maggie a big welcome and let her know how important her organization, and our effort, is to our community.

Thank you for your support. We've heard from dozens of you in the last few months, and it's very encouraging to know that you all care and support our efforts.

Reporting & Statutes of Limitation

2008-10-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

In many states, there is no Statute of Limitation [SOL] on Childhood Sexual Assault [CSA]. In fact, a few states don't have SOL for any sexual assault, and some states don't have any SOL for any felonies, period!

Every state is different, and the framers made that possible on purpose. In WA, we have a 3 year SOL on almost everything. Right or wrong, that's the way it is right now.

Nothing says we can't work to change that, however.

Surprisingly, Victim Advocates in WA are not in support of removing the SOL from CSA. Very few groups are in support of it, in fact. Wash-CAP thinks that it wouldn't be a bad thing, but that it's not a total fix for victims of CSA.

To get that opinion, we interviewed researchers at UW, victims, and prosecutors. If anyone wants more details, email me.

So, we came up with a compromise, and have started working on consensus for it:

When we came up with the idea, we were discussing what specific issues victims need addressed. We determined that victims may need

to know that they’re not ‘allowing’ the predator to commit more crimes due to their lack of reporting,
to know that they’ve sought justice for themselves, and
to speak out against their abuser

We’re not victim’s advocates, so that list may not have the proper terminology or be a complete list. However, it did allow us to come up with the proposed compromise:

SOL be extended to 25 y/o for all felony CSA.
This is for the following reasons:
>The majority of abuse takes place within the home, and in the majority of cases the abuser is in direct control of the child and is also the person paying for the child’s car, college, etc.
>The extension allows the child time to find therapy [free therapy in college without risk of mandatory reporting], complete college/trade school, and establish financial and social independence from the abusive environment.

Victims would be able to submit affidavits detailing the facts of the abuse as they remember it. Those affidavits would
>Be held by law enforcement
>Be “searchable” by law enforcement [databased]
>Be admissible in court
>Have no SOL

The accused would be notified of the affidavit and would be able to provide a response.

We leave it to the wisdom of the legislature as to whether these affidavits would be accessible to the public. Perhaps the facts of the affidavit, but not the identifying information.

We're open to suggestions and opinions.

Two cents: creating an environment conducive to reporting.

2008-10-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

When I started working on this project [CAP], I knew not to use stranger danger, and I knew why, but I made a lot of other mistakes. Sometimes I still think certain things, briefly, without saying them out loud, and sometimes I hear things from others.

Things like, "That person is just evil/a monster," or, "If anyone ever hurt my child like that, I/my husband would kill them!"

Here's the point of the post:

Whether or not evil exists is a fascinating conversation. The existance of this type of abuse, and the extremes to which it can be carried, may indicate the existance of evil; I don't know. But child abusers themselves are not evil. They're sick, they're twisted, they have chemical imbalances coupled with weak characters and poor impulse control... but they're not evil.

When we call them 'evil' or [to a lesser extent] 'monsters', we're creating a mystery around them and making them seem even scarier than they are. When a child hears a parent talking about abusers that way, the kid is thinking that, no matter what the parent says, there's not a thing mom or dad can do about the evil guy, that you're not big enough or mean enough to deal with monsters. There's a good chance that the child is going to try and protect his/her parents from the evil monsters by not telling the parent what's happening.

The same thing holds true for statements involving 'killing' those who abuse our kids. Personally, I think my head might explode from wanting to, but I've learned not to say it because - as one of my children pointed out to me [ouch] - if I kill that person, then I'll be in jail, and they won't have me as a parent.

The unifying theme to both these points: The reality of child abuse is so overwhelmingly and explosively emotional that neutral and calm language is necessary in order to help ensure that the facts get shared. If the worst happens and a child is abused or assaulted, the child needs to know that the parent/trusted adult is able to safeguard them from more harm, and to handle the information without getting arrested. Otherwise, they may be more willing to tolerate further abuse than to potentially worsen the situation by having their parents in danger or in jail. Sounds horrific, but it's not uncommon.

Increased Penalty Zones

2008-10-14T19:45:00.001-07:00

The Washington State PTA had their Legislative Assembly on October 3/4. During the Legislative Assembly, representatives from schools all over the state came to SeaTac to learn about and debate the issues under consideration for PTA support in the upcoming WA Legislative Session.

14 issues were presented for consideration, and 12 were kept on the ballot. The top 5 priority issues were based on education reform. Increased Penalty Zones came in at number six as a priority in PTA schools across the state!

It's great to know that the PTA, representing many thousand members state-wide, is supporting our efforts at Wash-CAP.

If you're a member of the PTA, you can contact your local legislators and let them know that the PTA supports Increased Penalty Zones, as described on our Projects page.

economy, children, and legislation

2008-09-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

This week I was told by a legislator, who shall remain nameless, that the priority in the State Legislature this session had to be on the economy and saving money.

Fiscal responsibility is very important, and I wouldn’t deny that. I won't diminish the importance of having a balanced budget, controlled spending, and sufficient reserves. This message is about how all of these issues are tied together.

When the economy takes a down turn, life gets more stressful. Our money has less value, there are fewer employment opportunities and more unemployed, and the cost of life increases. Right now, food banks all over the state are experiencing tremendous difficulty meeting the needs of their community, and many are closing their doors.

Social workers are already over-burdened, the need for their services is going to increase, and there is no funding for the increased need.

Why is the need for their services going to increase? Because when the economy takes a down-turn, crimes against children increase.

In most states in the country - all of them, so far as we know - there is a large amount of reactive legislation to address crimes that have been committed. There is some legislation to address identifying behaviors that indicate that a child has been victimized. There is very little legislation which actually is intended to prevent crimes against children.

Crimes are prevented with awareness and education, which are pennies on the dollar to the costs of prosecution and detention. It is also pennies on the dollar when compared to the costs of economic drain due to self-destructive behaviors, lack of meaningful employment, social welfare programs, and the statistical probability of repeated abuse in the next generation.

Washington will get through this recession in the next few years, and when we do, we'll see the costs of economic strain combined with a non-progressive approach to crime prevention.

Huge props to Senator McAuliffe for working with us to figure out effective and feasible methods of bringing security curricula to Washington's families and communities when our school systems are in a budget crisis. Her dedication and pragmatism have served Washington and her district for a long time, and they are appreciated by Wash-CAP.

Facebook

2008-09-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

If you have a Facebook account, you can join the Safe Child Project group.

Social Networking

2008-09-22T17:52:00.000-07:00

Social Networking is an interesting thing.

social networks

Another side effect of social networking is the increased vulnerability of the user.

COPPA

Protecting your kids on the internet is simple.

Don't send them online alone. Install parental controls [like OneCare] that allow you to restrict internet access when an adult is not in the house, and provide a record of each person they come in contact with online, and each site they visit. This will also allow you to provide access to some sites while restricting others.

Get comfortable with the internet: POS means parent over shoulder; TTYL means talk to you later. Learn to determine when it's safe to enter ID or banking information, and teach your children. Teach them about phishing scams, ID theft, and fraud. The more they know, and you know, the more they will be empowered against risk.

Keep the computers in a central location; don't allow your kids to surf the internet from their bedrooms, or while they're alone in the house. It's important to provide them with oversight and boundaries.

Children should not communicate with anyone online that YOU have not met in real life. Their email contacts should include a parent's name and phone number. You should know all the passwords to all of their accounts. Track the parental control reports to ensure that you know all sites they regularly visit and where they could be meeting people.

Let your kids know they must NEVER arrange to meet with anyone they know from the internet, or share information about their location with people they know from the internet.

Everything that happens online has consequences in the real world. It's difficult to remember for many adults, and very challenging for most children. Boundaries and discussion are invaluable as your child, and you, explore the internet.

Against my own inclination, I created a CAP group at My Space. My thinking is that we can maintain a beacon of internet safety over there, and my gut says, "Bad idea." I entered the information, posted some internet safety guidelines, and saved the data. The profile page presented itself, and in great, huge, bright blue letters across the middle of the screen? An incredibly inappropriate advertising banner. I won't repeat the slogan, but it was laughably ironic.

September News

2008-09-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

OK!

Our schedule has changed: as of now, the Safe Child Town Hall series is on hold.

ID Education [ideducation.net] is almost ready for use.

IDEducation.net will be a VERY basic, very accessible internet/ID safety site, largely pulling from, and referring to, expert sources like Look Both Ways and NetSmartz. This will not be cutting edge theory, this will be a tool box for folks just figuring out the many uses of the web.

We didn't get to attend the Together 2008 Reunion organized by FCAA. Heavy rain and sick kid prevented our drive to Tacoma. We hope we get another invite for next year, however. Did you attend? Tell us how it went!

Fall Schedule

2008-09-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

We have a lot scheduled for the next few months. Check out this list, and see if there is anything in your area. If not, let us know if you'd like us to schedule something. We'll do our best.

9/18 - Safe Child Town Hall, Highland Middle School, Bellevue, 7-830 pm. Children Welcome
9/20 - Together, Reunion 2008, the Foster Care Alumni of America's first Reunion - if you are part of the foster care community, check out http://www.fostercarealumni.org/ website for more information.
9/25 - Safe Child Town Hall, WF West High, Chehalis, 7-830 pm. Children Welcome.
10/2 - Safe Child Town Hall, Bothell
10/3-4 - Washington State PTA Legislative Assembly
10/7 - Safe Child Town Hall, Richland
10/23 - Safe Child Town Hall, Sedro Woolley
11/6 - Safe Child Town Hall, Spokane

Somewhere in there we're going to try and fit a Safe Child town hall for the White Center area. We hope to see you over the next few months of Town Halls. Come and say 'Hi' if you're able to attend! They're all child-friendly, and we need volunteers to help coordinate!

Foster Care Alumni of America

2008-09-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

This morning I opened up outlook and was pleased to see an evite - I'm a social girl, I like parties.

This is an incredibly cool party. Maybe one of the coolest parties ever. The evite was from FCAA - the Foster Care Alumni of America, for their first Reunion.

I'm going, and I'm taking my family.

What makes a family? What makes a community? Shared experience, support, and the will to work together through the conflicts and joys of life.

When something is broken, you work to fix it. When you do not have what you need, you work to get it. When you believe something, you do it. That is what the FCAA is doing, and I am so pleased and impressed.

Safe Child Town Hall - Tacoma

2008-08-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release:

The City of Tacoma is the site of the first Safe Child Town Hall, located at Lincoln High School’s auditorium, is Wednesday, August 20th, at 6:00 pm.

This town hall series is designed to empower communities, parents, and children; to help define and confront real risk head-on, in order to reduce crimes against children and tragedies in our communities. The Safe Child Town Hall series is part of Washington Communities Against Predator’s [Wash-CAP] Safe Child Project, in observance of National Missing Children’s Day. As many of the media know, 67% of all reported Sexual Assaults are committed upon minors: 33% are below 12 years of age. It is the goal of the Safe Child Project to reduce those numbers.

We hope for community members from across Tacoma to attend. Parents, care-givers, concerned adults and teenagers all benefit from learning –proactively- how to safeguard the children within their communities. With knowledge and empowerment, children can be kept safe and secure.

Tacoma Safe Child Town Hall topics will include:
· preventative safety for child and family,
· resources available if your child has been assaulted,
· real statistics on who is a threat to your child and community,
· internet safety
· what is being done to increase the safety of Tacoma’s families & children, and what has been learned in the last year since the tragic loss of Zinna Linnick,
· what kind of oversight Registered Sex Offenders receive,
· Panel Q&A

Participants include:
· Sexual Assault Center of Pierce County
· Safe Streets
· Department of Corrections
· Legislative Youth Advisory Council
· District 27 of the Washington State Legislature
· City of Tacoma, Tacoma TV
· Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital
· Tacoma Police Department
· Tacoma Schools
· Wash-CAP

Please – Attend if you can. Children are welcome. Printed materials will be available from participating organizations, including the Take 25 program from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children [NCMEC].

Some facts about injustice today - introducing the International Justice Mission

2008-07-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Earlier today I was instant messaging with my husband- we sit at our respective computers and send links back and forth to each other. At MSN, I came across a Dateline article on the Cambodian sex trade, which is one of the horrific issues that keeps me working on Saturday mornings while the kids play soccer.

The article describes the child sex-slave industry in Cambodia, and the efforts of some organizations to end that industry, and to provide care to the children who are rescued from the brothels - some of the children as young as five. One of those organizations is The International Justice Mission.

The International Justice Mission [IJM] is a phenomenal, courageous organization that works to shed light on gross injustice, and to bring pressure on countries to correct those injustices. Through hard work, risk, and working within the confines of other country's laws, IJM aggressively attacks the problems of child exploitation and sex-trade slavery, in addition to other kinds of slavery and injustice.

Here are some facts from their website, which are well documented via other organizations as well.

from the website of International Justice Mission
The Facts

The total market value of illicit human trafficking is estimated to be in excess of $32 billion (U.N.)

Each year, more than 2 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade (UNICEF)

27 million men, women and children are held as slaves. (Kevin Bales, Disposable People)

1 in 5 women is a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime. (U. N. Development Fund for Women)

More than 1 million children live in detention, the vast majority awaiting trial for minor offenses. (UNICEF)

Their website has a wealth of important information, including how you can help via volunteering and donation.

Some facts about slavery in the US (from Good magazine):

Between 14,500 - 17,500 slaves are brought into the US each year. One approximately every 30 minutes.

Half of the slaves brought into the US are used in the commercial sex industry

Internationally, the average cost of a slave is $90

Washington update for July

2008-07-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

Are you a PTA member? Can you help us between 10-3pm on Saturday, July 12? Please? We have submitted a legislative proposal to the Washington State PTA, and are due to testify on its behalf tomorrow, 7/12. We realized Wednesday that Bethan hadn't paid her PTA dues for the 2007/2008 school year, and now we need someone to present the proposal for her! This proposal would increase the penalties for predatory crimes committed against kids within a school zone, defined as 1000 feet around schools, and 100 feet around bus stops.

Huzzah to Wash-CAP - we made 'partner' with the Take 25 program from NCMEC, reaching more than 30,000 people with the prevention education message during late May and early June. We're still at it, too. If you live in White Center, you'll find Take 25 materials presented by the Kiwanis at the Jubilee, and various farmers markets around the Puget Sound area will have Take 25 materials, as available, during the Summer and Fall.

Our Education work now dwarfs our legislative work, so we're filing for (c)(3) status. Soon, your donations will be tax deductible. In the meantime, we still need donations! Right now we're raising money to buy ID kits for the kids at Stanley Elementary in Tacoma. Representatives from state and federal agencies will fingerprint and photograph, and each kid leaves with a very functional ID kit in case the worst happens and a child goes missing.

Very few children are kidnapped and 'disappear' each year, but the consequences are tremendous, and these ID kits have assisted in the return of many children. During ID events, preventative education is also provided to the community, families, and children. Please send in a donation to help this happen. There are approximately 325 kids, and each ID kit costs a dollar. We accept donations via checks, cash, and paypal.

We need your skills! Grant writers, executive level project managers, fundraisers - if you'd like to do some resume-worthy non-profit work, contact us. We're working on some truly fantastic projects this year, and are only limited by dollars in the bank and hours in the day.

What do you think?

-Should there be a statute of limitations on child sexual assault cases?
-Do you agree with the Supreme Court Ruling that the death penalty may not be applied even in the most severe cases of child sexual assault?

Send us back your answers and will post them on our site.

Yay! We made the list!

2008-06-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

Washington Communities Against Predators has made the partner list for the Take 25 campaign from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children!

Gavin de Becker interviewed by Charlie Rose

2008-06-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

Very interesting <13 minute interview.

http://www.charlierose.com/guests/gavin-becker

Age of Consent

2008-06-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

What do you think about Age of Consent?

Watch some of these episodes from 20/20's series, Age of Consent: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/AgeOfConsent/

What do you think - should a 19 year old who has intercouse with his 15 year old girl friend stay on a registry forever?

ADHD or Trauma?

2008-06-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

Diagnosis: ADHD—or Is It Trauma?
"Though we tend to think of traumatic experiences as rare, in fact, by age 16, seven of 10 children have been exposed to at least one potentially traumatic event—such as a natural disaster, severe car accident, child abuse or the loss of close family member—according to a study of a representative sample of more than 1,400 children living in North Carolina published in 2007."

This article discusses the symptoms of trauma and how they are similar to ADHD or ADD, and so are often mistaken by pediatricians who don't have sufficient training, or who haven't received the information they need to do a proper screening for the REAL cause of the behavioral issues.

This is an area where the parents and care-givers need to be observant and stay attuned to their children: if you see a change in how your child behaves, such as nervousness, a strong startle response, increased aggressive behavior which seems out of character - then you need to look around at the people and circumstances of your child's environment and see if you can find some clues, and you need to get your kid screened by a professional. There are a lot of great child psychologists out there, and a lot of insurance companies cover a certain number of visits per year, especially when you have behavioral disruptions. Many of these psychologists and counselors are available through school districts.

Remember, younger kids have 'magical thinking'. If abuse starts before the kids are more logical thinkers, then they probably assume that you know about it, or that you can pick up on the tiny little clues that they drop, which are often disguised as erratic behavior.

Talk to your kids, follow up on random statements, and don't let erratic or unusual behavior go un-discussed and dealt with.

Washington update for June

2008-06-26T08:55:00.000-07:00

Member Update for June, 2008
Hello Everyone!
We've had a lot happen in the last 4-6 weeks.

Welcome to Colorado, our newest chapter. Jane from California forwarded us a news story about a man in Western Colorado who needed some help, and a few days later Jason started the process to create a chapter. Really nice people, and already getting a lot done. If you have relatives for friends in Colorado, let them know they have a resource for safety education and advocacy.

Safe Child Week was a great success. Regional Library systems, the Attorney General's Office, the Governor, the Legislature, the PTA, several pediatric clinics, Moms' clubs, PEACE of Mind... all told, we reached approximately 30,000 people with the message of preventative safety education, using the Take 25 program from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. And that's not counting the people reached with media coverage! Tremendous thanks to everyone who participated, and -if you missed the chance- there is more coming up with the Safe Child Effort:

Town Hall meetings are scheduled in 7 Legislative Districts so far, starting in September. These Town Halls are in further observance of Missing Children's Day, and will cover children's safety issues and crime prevention. Local legislators and elected officials, local law enforcement, and experts in crime prevention will be attending as speakers and for Q&A. If you would like to participate in this effort, or would like more information, please contact us.

Our agenda for 2008-09 is on the website. Our focus this year is on the Safe Child project, Increased Penalties in School Zone legislation, Statute of Limitations on Felony crimes committed against kids, and Predatory Exposure.

Paula is going on hiatus for the rest of the year. We wouldn't be here without her dedication and hard work: she spent hundreds of hours getting this non-profit up off the ground, offering support, driving to Olympia to testify, etc., and all the while being a great parent and finding success in her demanding career.

This leaves an opening in our organization for a Director. It's an unpaid position, and time commitments range from 10-30 hours per week. Higher-level project management skills are necessary, along with some experience in, or knowledge of, law enforcement, social work, legislation, or fund raising. If you're interested, send in your resume and cover letter.

Enjoy your summer, and keep safe! Here are Summer Safety Rules from NCMEC - a very good read. Print the .pdf and talk to your kids about it.

Washington update for May

2008-05-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

May 06, 2008
Safe Child Week Update
For Immediate Release:

National Missing Children's Day is on May 25. This is the 26th National Missing Children's Day, which was first proclaimed by President Reagan in observance of the disappearance of a young boy in New York, and in observance of the thousands of children that are abducted in the US every year.

Washington Communities Against Predators, and Washington State, are observing National Missing Children's Day with the creation of Safe Child Week, which will occur May 19-25.

Safe Child Week is a week of prevention education across Washington State, working with the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children's Take 25 program. Our goal is that Take 25's common-sense and non-scary message will reach every single care-giver and parent in Washington State.

We're off to a great start.

The Governor's Office, Attorney General's Office, the State Senate, the PTA, the Association of Washington Cities, several of the regional library systems, Moms' Clubs of Washington, a number of hospitals, Safe Streets and other community based organizations, have all signed on to raise awareness, educate, and empower communities, families, and children.

But will it be enough? In 2006, 58,000 children were abducted by non-family members. 67% of reported sex crimes were committed against children under 18, 33% were committed upon children under 12. 14% of all reported sex crimes were committed upon children under 6 years old. And that's the crimes that were reported. Law enforcement indicate that a large number of these crimes go unreported as the criminal is in a position of authority over the child.

The effects of this type and amount of child victimization are felt by the family, the community, and society. We would ask that society 'Take 25' to realize that it is a serious risk to society: 33% of girls, and 20% of boys will experience sexual assault as children, and the damage will be lasting.

We can prevent it, and Safe Child Week, with Take 25, is a solid step in that direction.

Washington update for April

2008-04-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

April 21, 2008
Hello Everyone!
Today is April 21, and we are busy. Very very busy.

Safe Child Week - Organizations and businesses across Washington State are signing up to participate in this week-long effort toward preventative safety education. Town Hall meetings, ID Kit events, community seminars, library story-times, PTA programs, public service announcements... in a week or so, you'll be able to enter your location into [this] event form, and find a participant near you.

Legislation - Not a single bill that we proposed got through. Thankfully, others have recognized the importance of that legislation, so there are more people working on it and helping it along. Some other legislation that we're working on is the Statute of Limitations on CSA crimes, and researching issues that members have had over the last 18 months, to see if there are systems that need work. Head over to our blog and talk about it!

PlayGround Watch - is in the works. Have a community area that your family enjoys, like the park, playground at school, or a public pool? You'll be able to talk to others that use that same space, and trade community information and safety issues.

Introducing Heather, who is our rotating Director of Special Projects. Right now, most of this is a special project! Heather will be working on establishing a seminar program for the state, and on formalizing Safe Child Week. She comes to us with a strong background in management and training, and we really appreciate her help.

Town Hall meetings - In response to the large number of emails we received expressing disappointment with this session's results, we've talked to our State's Senators and Representatives about scheduling Town Hall meetings in their districts. Some of these may be hosted by community members, some by cities and towns, but all of them will provide a forum for YOU to tell your local government what you think about community and child safety, and also will provide some common-sense safety education. Contact your district office to find out if one is scheduled in your area.

And, please - we need feedback and volunteers.
Want to handout tip sheets at a farmers market in your community? Organize and moderate a safety seminar? Could be fun :-)

Talk to Us - Volunteer - Donate
Thank you!

Are sex offenders ill?

2008-03-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

A great article from the Sex Crime blog: Are Sex Offenders Ill?

I'm not a mental health professional, so I won't offer an opinion. I will say that their mental health is not of concern to our org.

What is of concern is that -if they have gotten to the point of being 'sex offenders' - they allowed themselves to impose on another person in a sexually violent manner.

That's what jails are for.

Washington update for March

2008-03-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

2008 is an eventful year so far.

In January, we worked with the Washington State Bar Association on their methods of dealing with members accused of sex crimes, prepared for the 2008 Legislative Session, and we traveled to Olympia to testify before a legislative committee.
In February, we made several trips to Olympia to testify and talk to legislators, put up a new website, and started preparations for Missing Children's Week, in May.
In March we

Watched the clock as all of our Bills stalled in the final stage of the legislative session. In those final hours, the legislators showed us that they do not share our priorities. Disappointed? Hugely. Dis-spirited? Yeah, a little. And very motivated to get our message heard and our legislation passed in 2008/09.

Received word from the Washington State Bar Association that they read our Letter of Request and agree that this is an issue they need to work on. They're forming a committee to figure out the best method of dealing with members accused of sex crimes, so that consumers of legal services in Washington State can have some faith in the integrity of those listed on the WSBA's member pages.

Continued work on Missing Children's Week. This will be a week of prevention education in observance of Missing Children's Day. We're working with a rapidly growing number of organizations across Washington State to bring some amount of prevention education to every single child and care-giver in the state, in the hopes of reducing the horrifying number of children preyed upon each year.

We still need help! The offers of encouragement are wonderful, and very appreciated, but all of this work costs a bit of money, and takes a lot of time. $12 pays for the website for a month, and you can donate it by buying a couple of items from our store! Or, if you'd like to work on a project, please contact us and let us know - a few hours of your time is a wonderful way to help.

April 3 is "Blog Against Sexual Violence" day. You can participate over at www.wash-cap.org/blog. We're going to start a few topics, and you can come on over and participate. What topics would you like to see discussed? Let us know, and we'll get them up.

Thank you for your continued support. We started off the year with a lot of enthusiasm, and we're continuing with dedication and tenacity.

We have a very full agenda, we have a detailed plan of action, and we are moving forward.

-Bethan & Paula
PS - if you'd like to be removed from this mailing list, please reply with "unsub" in the subject line. Thanks!