Crime Alert Stories: Could Your Child Get Out Alive?
POSTED: Thursday, November 1, 2007
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Over the course of the past year and with the permission of parents, Channel 4 tested whether unknowing children could be tempted to walk off with a complete stranger. It was part of Channel 4's continuing hidden-camera investigation: Crime Alert: Could Your Child Get Out Alive?Casey Black, along with a team of producers and photojournalists with the local station, tested kids at a park in Clay County, the beaches in Duval County, a playground in St. Johns County and a ball field in Nassau County."We've dedicated a lot of time to this project and it's produced some eye-opening results," Black said.These trials used the "lost puppy ploy" or a promise of games or toys to successfully lure kids to walk away with a total stranger, but what other techniques do predators use?WJXT's special coverage also looked at the danger relatives and family friends could pose to children and how possible predators could be lurking on the other side of a computer chat, text message or e-mail.Here are the reports designed to inform parents and protect children that aired during 2007:
Copyright 2008 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
'Help Me Find My Puppy'Channel 4's first hidden-camera investigation tested two children in a Clay County park -- one the son of a reporter -- to see if they would walk off with a total stranger. |  | |
 | 'Puppy Ploy' On Jacksonville BeachAfter our first hidden camera investigation, parents wrote and asked us to test their kids -- so we did. We recreated the test at Jacksonville Beach, in broad daylight, in the middle of a crowd. Would that save a child from a stranger? | |
'I've Got More Games In The Car'The third installment on our investigation took us to St. Johns County, where we changed the approach as our "perpetrator" used toys and games as the lure for children in a playground. |  | |
 | 'Help Me Find My Other Dog'At the request of viewers, our fourth stranger-danger test of children was at a ball field in Yulee, where a man approached boys and girls asking them to come help him find a lost dog as the nervous parents watched from a distance. Did they fall for the ploy? See The Story | |
Danger From People You KnowIt's estimated that 70 percent of all children who fall victim to a sexual predator knew their attacker. Often it's a family member or friend. Here is what experts say kids and parents should do. |  | |
 | Getting Out Of Locked TrunkWhat if a worst case scenerio happened: Prevention techniques didn't work and a child was abducted and locked in a trunk? Casey Black explains what can be done to get out of a locked trunk. | |
MySpace DangersPredators can hide behind a computer when they prey on children. MySpace, Facebook and other networking Web sites are giving bad guys a way into homes and you parents not even be aware. Here's how to protect your family. |  | |
Copyright 2008 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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