Hello Everyone,
Evelyn here,
In this week's edition of the Attorney General's newsletter the Attorney General, Bill McCollum, announces the official roll-out of the statewide initiative to protect Florida’s residents and children against CyberCrimes.
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Attorney General, Bill McCollum
News Briefs
September 7, 2007
Message from Attorney General Bill McCollum
This week, the Attorney General’s Office rolled out a statewide
initiative that targets my top priority - protecting Floridians, and
especially children, against CyberCrime. On Wednesday, I visited
Rampello Downtown Partnership School in Tampa to present the very first
CyberSafety program to nearly 100 children and repeated the program the
next day at Miami Springs Middle School. The 50-minute cybersafety
program will be presented this year to middle and high schools, both
public and private, throughout Florida.
This innovative program, presented by victim advocates from the Attorney General’s Child Predator CyberCrime Unit, is designed to empower children to use the internet safely by combining examples of both dangerous and safe internet use. I believe this program and the information it presents is absolutely essential as we protect our children from the internet child predators who are a constant threat.
During the presentations, students receive information about internet
dangers as well as the tactics used by online predators. They learn what constitutes a cybercrime and how to report it. Students are also taught to recognize when a friend is in "cyber danger" and what they can do to help. As I unveiled the program to the children in Tampa and Miami Springs, I was reminded of how important this information will be as child after child raised his or her hand to share their internet experiences.
Another unique element of the CyberSafety Educational Initiative is that school principals have the ability to request presentations for their schools at a time convenient for their students. This can be done by logging onto http://www.safeflorida.net/safesurf , a website that also includes useful tips for adults and young people on dealing with cyberthreats. This program will then become a part of the school’s
curriculum.
The CyberSafety initiative was launched with the assistance of the
Florida Association of District School Superintendents, the Florida
School Resource Officers Association, and the Florida Sheriff’s
Association. Each of theseorganizations and their members have been
instrumental in developing this program and bringing it directly to
students. I appreciate their support, and I anticipate realizing
successes in schools across the state of Florida.
Like other crimes that victimize our society, cybercrime is best fought
by engaging the community and educating citizens about how to protect
themselves from predators. I am excited to be taking this first-of-its
kind effort directly to our students, their parents and Florida’s
educators. Together, we will teach cybersafety skills and keep the
internet safe, secure, enlightening and fun.
Thank you.
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Evelyn out.
