Child Abduction
Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes: My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Police. Is the Minister aware of recent recorded crime statistics that 380 cases of abduction and kidnapping have occurred in New South Wales in the past 12 months ending 30 June 2008? In particular, is the Minister aware of 15 abduction attempts of children aged between 8 to 16 since August this year? Given that New South Wales has the highest recorded rate of abduction and kidnapping in the country since 2005, can the Minister inform the House about measures the New South Wales Police Force will implement to reduce the development of this particular type of crime? What progress has been made to arrest the offenders involved? What programs have been established to educate not only our schoolchildren but also our local communities to prevent further abduction and kidnapping attempts?
The Hon. Tony Kelly: The New South Wales Government takes seriously any incident that may involve harm to children. I am advised that the recent spate of incidents where children have been approached by persons unknown to them do not appear at this time to be related. Each matter must be investigated on the evidence at hand. All reported incidents cause the community, the officers of the New South Wales Police Force and me a great deal of concern. Police have released information on the matters to keep the public informed and to encourage increased vigilance. Police are attempting to get the balance right between warning the community and ensuring that the community is not unduly alarmed. This information campaign may lead to a higher level of reporting of similar episodes by children, but this should not instil fear into our communities. Awareness and watchfulness remain the best protection for our children whilst the police investigate each matter thoroughly. Parents should continue to talk to their children about sticking to agreed routes home, to never go with someone without their parents’ permission and to report any suspicious activity to police. Police are continuing their investigations. Anyone with information on these or other matters is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
I should also make some comments on the Keeping Me Safe Program, which the police have recently instituted. The New South Wales Police Force continues to strive to improve its partnership with the community to protect children and to provide simple to understand and effective messages to children and their parents. The Keeping Me Safe Program provides children with help to ensure their personal safety, especially in situations involving strangers or when there is no immediate adult supervision. The program was developed as an enhanced replacement to the Safety House Program to ensure that at every location there are safe places and safe adults that a young child can recognise and remember. The program helps children to identify safe adults in their life and in the community; to identify safe places in the community, home, streets or where there regularly go; to say no when they are frightened of being asked to do something they do not like; to develop confidence to tell an adult regardless of what is going on or who is harming them; to never go with someone, whether they are known to them or not, without their parents’ permission; and to learn where to go when lost or frightened.
This package of information is presented in schools and other locations by youth liaison officers and it pulls together resources to assist children to find safe places whether in their own home or in the community as well as safe people they can turn to, reinforcing the message to children that it is not safe to go with anyone unless their parents have given permission. Community members wishing to assist are encouraged to become volunteers in policing. Volunteers participate in the program by spreading the message in outdoor events and venues that children can be protected and that it is a responsibility we all share.
As children respond well to images that they can remember and with which they can identify, the police penguin mascot, Constable Charlie, was developed to highlight the program and to connect those messages to children. So far, police report that the program and mascot are extremely effective and well received in the areas where the program is presented. Other jurisdictions have shown interest in the New South Wales initiative, which is developing a better and more comprehensive approach to a community-based child protection program. We look forward to the ongoing success of the program and the opportunity to share it with our colleagues in other States. I understand that well in excess of 20,000 children have already participated in the program.
