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"The Internet is part of our
daily lives, and children can spend hours each day on the Web
learning and exploring. This program will help prepare our children
to avoid potential dangers as they use chat rooms, instant messages,
and conduct research online," said Gov. Blagojevich. The NetSmartz
Workshop was developed by the National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children and Boys & Girls Clubs of America and uses 3-D
animation, music, and interactive games paired with dynamic activity
cards to teach kids about online dangers and how to avoid them.
"Inappropriate use of the Internet can expose our children to
significant dangers. The Illinois State Police is proud to offer
NetSmartz Workshop training to parents, teachers, and non-profit
organizations," said Illinois State Police Director Larry G. Trent.
"Through increased education, we can help to ensure our children's
safety each time they go online."
During the months of October through December 2006, ISP officers
conducted the following NetSmartz presentations:
The Illinois State Police currently has 53 officers certified to
conduct NetSmartz Workshop training. For information on scheduling a
NetSmartz program or training session, please visit the Illinois
State Police Internet Crimes Web site at
www.isp.state.il.us/icu, or contact the Illinois State Police
Safety Education Unit at 217/524-2525.
The Governor's plan, announced last Fall, has four main
components: creating a centralized Internet Crimes Unit (ICU) under
Illinois State Police authority, increasing penalties of Internet
crime, maintaining an ICU Web site (www.isp.state.il.us/icu)
to serve as a "One-Stop-Shopping" center where the public can report
suspicious online behavior and get information about Internet crime
and safety, and using the most advanced law enforcement technology
available.
The ICU is comprised of ten officers, seven computer forensic
investigators, and eight crime analysts. This makes the Illinois ICU
one of the nation's largest state teams dedicated to fighting
Internet crimes. The goal is to create a unique enforcement group
capable of educating the public, gathering information from the
private sector, coordinating investigations with other bodies and
agencies of law enforcement, de-conflicting investigative efforts,
researching crime, proactively searching the Web for criminal
activity, and then performing the required forensic work to further
investigative efforts and assist prosecutors in jailing offenders.
The ICU serves as a point of contact for the general public,
schools, and the law enforcement community for all
questions/concerns regarding Internet safety or crimes like identity
theft, financial fraud, and terrorism. The unit also serves as the
initial point of contact for citizen inquiries; a repository for
public safety information; provides statewide de-confliction for
investigations; and offers criminal intelligence analysis for law
enforcement agencies and computer evidence recovery for
investigations and trial preparation.
[to top of second column]
 |
 Upcoming NetSmartz presentations:
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February 16 and 19 -
Normal Community High School, Normal
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February 20 -
Kankakee High School, Kankakee
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February 20 - Vachel
Lindsay School, Springfield
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February 24 - John A.
Logan College, Marion
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February 27 - River
Valley School, Lemont
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February 28 - Dix
Grade School, Dix
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March 3 - Boy Scout
Merit Badge Day, Bloomington
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March 7 - Normal Unit
Teachers, Normal
Safety tips recommended by NetSmartz include:
1. Look into safeguarding programs or options your online service
provider might offer. These may include monitoring or filtering
capabilities.
2. Always read a Web site's privacy policy before giving any
personal information. Also make sure that a Web site offers a secure
connection before giving credit card information.
3. Web sites for children are not permitted to request personal
information without a parent's permission. Talk to children about
what qualifies as personal information and why you should never give
it to people online.
4. If children use chat or e-mail, talk to them about never
meeting in person with anyone they first "met" online.
5. Talk to children about not responding to offensive or
dangerous e-mails, chats, or other communications. Report any such
communication to local law enforcement. Do not delete the offensive
or dangerous e-mail; rather, turn off the monitor and contact local
law enforcement.
6. Keep the computer in the family room or another open area of
your home.
7. Let children show you what they can do online and visit their
favorite sites.
8. Have children use child-friendly search engines when
completing homework.
9. Know who children are exchanging e-mail with and only let them
use chat areas when you can supervise. NetSmartz recommends limiting
chatroom access to child-friendly chat sites.
10. Be aware of any other computers your child may be using.
11. Internet accounts should be in a parent's name with parents
having the primary screen name and controlling passwords. Parents
should also utilize blocking and/or filtering devices.
12. Children should not complete a profile for a service
provider, and children's screen names should be nondescript so as
not to identify that the user is a child.
(Text copied from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information) |
