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Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, Internet Safety

HOSTING THE SAFE SURFING IN SUFFOLK INTERNET SAFETY PROGRAM

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In 2003 the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office launched a hi-tech, interactive, Internet safety program for students. Today, the Office continues to present these training programs, with separate programs for parents and students in Suffolk County.

The student program begins with an interactive chat conversation designed to teach students about the rules for Internet safety and the dangers of disclosing personal information online. The program ends with a discussion of the two types of deception frequently encountered by children online. The first type of deception is the deception used by predators to learn personal information about children. The second type of deception is called grooming - tools used by online predators to gain access to children they meet online, including false claims by predators that they love and care for the child and can help them with their problems. During this segment, students hear stories from victims of online child exploitation. The program concludes with a discussion and distribution of the resources, contacts, and web sites students can use to learn more about protecting themselves and others online.

The program for parents and community groups is an empowerment session. We begin with a discussion of hot topics - statistics related to victims and predators as well as current trends and problems. We use the real-life stories of victims to highlight the impact of online child exploitation to the audience, throughout the presentation. The session ends with a discussion and distribution of resources that parents, teachers, and community leaders can use to protect children online.

Both of these programs are self-contained and require minimal resources from hosts. A suitable venue for the audience is required, however, beyond that hosts need only secure attendance and make small arrangements at the venue to accomodate presenters. Both programs have been met with high praise, and we believe the programs are extremely effective in achieving the ultimate goal of prevention. To schedule a presentation for your school or parent or community organization, use the "contact us" link on our main index page.