October 18, 2007
Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150
Attorney General Brings Cybersafety Program to Hernando County
~ First high school presentation at Attorney General’s alma mater ~
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today visited his alma mater, Hernando High School in Brooksville, and spoke to students, teachers and administrators about the importance of cybersafety. Designed to empower children to use the internet safely, the statewide cybersafety program combines real-life stories and examples to help students identify the ways they could be victimized online. Members of the Attorney General’s Child Predator CyberCrime Unit have been bringing the 50-minute cybersafety program to middle and high school students statewide since the beginning of the school year.
“It’s a real pleasure for me to be giving our first high school CyberSafety presentation in my hometown,” said Attorney General Bill McCollum. “Technology plays a key role in our children’s lives. However, as technology evolves and becomes more advanced, so do the individuals who prey on our children. We must take every precaution to keep young people safe and that process begins with education and outreach.”
During the presentations, students receive information about internet dangers as well as tactics used by online child predators. They also learn what constitutes a cybercrime and how to report it. An open line of communication between the students and victim advocates from the Attorney General’s CyberCrime Unit is strongly encouraged to give the opportunity for private disclosure of any offenses. Students are taught how to recognize when a friend is in “cyber danger” and what they can do to help. The victim advocates also offer counseling to any child who discloses victimization and can refer any reported offenses to law enforcement for investigation.
“We are honored and pleased to have Florida’s Attorney General, one of our “Leopards,” return home and speak to our students about cybersafety,” said Betty Harper, Hernando High School Principal, who pointed out that Attorney General McCollum was vice president of his freshman class and president of his senior class. “As educators, the safety and well-being of our students is our number-one priority and I commend and thank Attorney General McCollum for spearheading this campaign in Florida’s schools.”
The Attorney General’s message to high school students also includes discussion on information they post on social networking websites like MySpace and Facebook. He emphasizes that, as they prepare for the next phase of their lives, students should remember that future employers and college admissions boards are now using social networking websites as resources to learn more about their applicants.
“My message to high school students is think before you post,” said Attorney General McCollum. “Their social networking pages should reflect their true character.”
In addition to receiving support from the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, the Attorney General’s cybersafety initiative has also received the commitment of the Florida Association of School Resource Officers (SRO). The SRO Program is a collaborative effort by certified law enforcement officers, educators, students, parents and the community to offer law-related educational programs in the schools. The purpose of the program is to reduce crime, drug abuse and violence and provide a safe school environment. The administrators of the school cybersafety program will share appropriate information with the school resource officers in the local schools so they can keep their eyes and ears open to potential "hot spots." They can then focus on those students and their specific concerns.
The Cyber Crime Unit has also developed the Internet Student Advisory Council, designed to match technology-savvy teenagers with the unit’s cybercrime law enforcement team. The unit’s investigators will work closely with the students to identify new and popular internet trends, including those that could be potentially harmful to young people. Using information provided by the student advisors, cybersafety presenters speak to kids in their own language and empower them to protect themselves and one another.
In May, Attorney General McCollum’s office launched a new cybersafety website, located at http://www.safeflorida.net/safesurf, to provide valuable information to adults, teens and kids about staying safe while surfing the internet. The SafeSurf children’s page includes several entertaining and educational games that teach internet safety. The teen SafeSurf page offers tips on safeguarding personal information and avoiding dangerous situations. It also provides a forum for stories from teenagers who were victimized on the internet. The web page for adults offers a guide to popular internet language used in chat rooms and gives safety advice on how to monitor what your children are doing on the internet.
To complement the new cybersafety school initiative, an additional component has now been added to the SafeSurf website for Florida’s principals. The site allows middle and high school principals to log onto a calendar developed specifically for them and register their school to receive the Attorney General’s cybersafety presentation. For more information on the Attorney General’s cybersafety initiative, please visit http://www.safeflorida.net.