Safety tips: Protect your child from being abducted

WITH the increasing number of missing person cases in the Highway area, Hillcrest SAPS has issued a number of hints and tips to help parents ensure their children’s safety.

Also read: Police discover body of missing Pinetown girl

“Prevention is always better than cure, or so the saying goes. When it comes to children, safety and how they interact with strangers, it is paramount that as a parent we make these issues are on top of our priority list,” said Hillcrest SAPS communications officer, Capt Linzi Smith.

1. Keep a recent photo of your child on you so that they can be easily identifiable if anything were to happen.

2. Teach your children their own names, addresses and your name and telephone number.

3. Show your children where the nearest police station is and as well as the contact number for the station. Remember to point out key landmarks so that they won’t get lost.

4. Teach your children not to trust strangers and that they should not accept gifts or go anywhere with them.

5. Create a family exclusive password. Then when you get someone to pick them up it can be used as a security question. Tell your children that if a stranger doesn’t know the password then they should not go with them.

6. Know where your children are at all times, who they are with and what they are wearing.

7. Make an effort to know your children’s friends, i.e. names, addresses and numbers.

8. Keep children close to home and teach them the importance of a buddy system – to never go anywhere alone.

9. Teach your children to take the same route to and from places. If your child goes missing you can start looking on the discussed route.

10. Keep a close eye on their interaction on social media.

11. Shopping mall safety: Teach your children what to do if they get lost in a mall, i.e. show them how to identify security personnel or to speak to a store clerk. Tell them not to leave a store without you.

12. Teach your children that should they be approached by a stranger or a stranger tries to take them, they should scream as loud as possible and shout: “This is not my mommy” or “This is not my daddy.” (“Stranger – Danger”).

13. Don’t let your children go into toilets unaccompanied. Either you go inside with them or you wait directly outside the toilet entrance for them.

According to Smith, if you do yourself in the unfortunate position where you can’t find your child, follow these tips:

1. Don’t wait to report the incident: “There is no waiting period to report a person/child missing anymore. A child must immediately be reported missing. Should the family be told otherwise by the SAPS, they should demand to speak to the Station Commander.

2. Make sure that you give a detailed description of your child to the police: Full name of missing person, age of missing person, description of missing person, eye colour, hair colour/style, height, weight and any distinctive marks such as scars/birthmarks. You should also inform the police about where the child was last seen and what the child was wearing.

3. If your child goes missing in a shopping centre immediately alert the security of the shop you are in. Ask them to alert the main security office so that all entrances and exits are monitored. Shout as loud as you can your child’s name, age and description to all people so that they can help you search. Ask security to check all bathrooms (male and female). If your child is still not found ask the shopping centre to contact SAPS while you continue to search with security.

“We need to educate our children from a young age about safety awareness. This should not only be from the school. Parents must teach their children to be vigilant. It is scary how quickly and easily this happens. This is happening all over the world, it is an international situation, but by educating parents and children we can try and curb incidents from happening. It is also important to know that it is not only minors that are being taken so adults and parents should also take precautions and note the tips and also be vigilant,” added Smith.

You can contact call SAPS on 08 600 10111 or Missing Children SA on 072 647 7464.

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