Parental Advice
Former Oklahoma County District Attorney
Wes Lane
Advice to Parents on KIDNAPPING
The crime of Kidnapping poses a serious risk to the children of our community. Take a moment to familiarize yourself and your family on the facts and ways to prevent Kidnapping.
FACTS ABOUT STRANGER KIDNAPPING:
COMMUNICATE with you child about their safety and awareness of their surroundings.
ENCOURAGE your child to trust their own instincts.
TEACH your child to run away from danger.
ENCOURAGE your child to yell loudly in dangerous situations.
ROLE PLAY with your child about what to do in a dangerous situation.
SECURE your home and show your child how to be safe inside their home.
DO NOT ALLOW:
Your child to get into cars with strangers.
Your child to go places alone.
Your child to play outside alone.
Your child to play in the street.
Facts about STRANGER Kidnapping:
95 percent of the perpetrators are male
90 percent of the perpetrators are adults.
Both boys and girls are targets of Kidnapping -although girls are at a Higher risk of abductions (girl victims = sixty four percent compared to boy victims = thirty six percent)
Children of all ages are at risk of being abducted by a stranger-although the Risk greatly increases after a child reaches age 6 and peaks at 15. 58 percent of stranger abductions occur at an outdoor location, such as street, highway, park, waterway or other public area-only 3 percent of stranger abductions originate at school.
About 1 in 4 stranger abductions involve the use of a firearm or other weapons.
