Ok, this might get a bit long. I'm from California and I majored in Criminology. My father is a retired deputy sheriff from Alameda County, including Oakland, which has one of the highest murder rates in the state.
Here's what you need to understand about crime: the media will jump on every opportunity to inflate anything they can to get ratings. Often, what you are hearing on the news, isn't exactly what happened.
Crime statistics are based on reported crime numbers. There are going to be areas of higher crime in the world, not just the United States.
I think parents are subject to scare tactics by companies. My son won't have a cell phone until high school. The likelihood of him being kidnapped by a stranger is so very small. Check out some statistics:
1. Based on the identity of the perpetrator, there are three distinct types of kidnapping:
kidnapping by a relative of the victim or "family kidnapping" (49 percent), kidnapping by an acquaintance of the victim or "acquaintance kidnapping" (27 percent), and kidnapping by a stranger to the victim or "stranger kidnapping" (24 percent).
2. Family kidnapping is committed primarily by parents, involves a larger percentage of female perpetrators (43 percent) than other types of kidnapping offenses, occurs more frequently to children under 6, equally victimizes juveniles of both sexes, and most often originates in the home.
3. Acquaintance kidnapping involves a comparatively high percentage of juvenile perpetrators, has the largest percentage of female and teenage victims, is more often associated with other crimes (especially sexual and physical assault), occurs at homes and residences, and has the highest percentage of injured victims.
4. Stranger kidnapping victimizes more females than males, occurs primarily at outdoor locations, victimizes both teenagers and school-age children, is associated with sexual assaults in the case of girl victims and robberies in the case of boy victims (although not exclusively so), and is the type of kidnapping most likely to involve the use of a firearm.
5. Only about one child out of each 10,000 missing children reported to the local police is not found alive. However, about 20 percent of the children reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in nonfamily abductions are not found alive.
6. In 80 percent of abductions by strangers, the first contact between the child and the abductor occurs within a quarter mile of the child's home.
7.
Most potential abductors grab their victims on the street or try to lure them into their vehicles.
Sources: Federal Bureau of Investigation; National Crime Information Center; U.S. Justice Dept.; Vanished Children's Alliance; Redbook, February 1998; State of Washington's Office of the Attorney General; United States Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Juvenile Justice Bulletin, June 2000
First of all, children are more likely to be kidnapped by a family member or someone that knows them. Communication is key. Tell your child not to go with anyone they do not know. Get a safe word that only child and the person picking up the child know. (i.e. "banana")
Second, if your child is grabbed, tell them to scream as loud as they can the word, "FIRE!" People are more likely to respond to this word than "Help!" They can also shout, "NO!" Make sure they know not to approach cars if anyone is asking to show them something or help them.
Finally, a cell phone will not protect your child from being kidnapped. More likely than not, the perpetrator will ditch the belongings of the child and that GPS will become useless.
The key thing here is educating your child. This is the same in ANY country ANYWHERE in the world.
one father of 3 was out minding his own business on his way home when 5 thugs beat him up - all caught arrested and well in their statement they said they did it cuz they were bored - THEY ALMOST KILLED HIM!!!
I agree stranger kidnappings like that are very rare. Must be every parent's worst nightmare, though.
