May 22, 2006

Numerous sting operations and nationally broadcast programs such as Nightline, Dateline and others have showcased Internet safety as a high-level issue facing communities across the country. The statistics are alarming – one in five children is solicited online, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Sugar Land, led by Mayor David G. Wallace, took a unique approach in the fight against this growing epidemic.

A high school youth group known as the Sugar Land Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council (MYAC) – a city'sponsored program to provide city government leaders insight in the development of programs and services that impact young people – met this spring to discuss issues of importance. MYAC identified safety as a top concern. The ability to feel safe in their schools, where they socialize, and their homes was a priority. Topping their list was the issue of Internet safety.

A follow-up meeting was scheduled with the 44 youth members, Wallace and Sugar Land’s Police Chief for discussion and development of a plan to address the issue. A representative from the Attorney General’s Office was also invited to discuss cyber crime enforcement and education programs related to Internet safety.

The discussion led to the idea of presentations in middle schools, a younger population often targeted by online predators. MYAC members specifically selected schools they had previously attended, the idea being that the younger students would more readily identify with one of their own. The next step involved meetings with local school district officials, followed by discussions with middle school counselors to finalize the specifics of the student presentations in an age-appropriate manner.

Months of hard work and planning recently resulted in a partnership between MYAC, Sugar Land police and the Texas Attorney General’s Office to present Internet safety tips to more than 600 Sugar Land public and private middle school students over a two-day period.

The program included an introduction by Wallace; a high-level, peer-to-peer discussion from MYAC members; a presentation by an agent in the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit; and a final wrap up by the mayor.

MYAC members focused on smart decisions regarding personal information posted on the Internet and participation in chat rooms, which have become one of the most dangerous and popular places on the Internet. Chat-room sites like myspace.com have become increasingly popular with young people, but these sites are prime targets for predators. Chat rooms facilitate conversations with people around the block or around the world. It’s like being on a party line, where type replaces talk. Everyone in chat rooms can see everything that’s typed. While some chat rooms have chaperons or monitors, the monitor can’t prevent people from going to a private chat area.

The 45-minute presentations included eye-opening demonstrations, such as a 34-year-old, male law enforcement agent posing online as a 13-year-old girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. Not 15 minutes after entering a chat room, the fictitious young girl was propositioned. Moreover, the students were surprised to learn that it took a mere 20 minutes to target a chat room visitor named “Teresa01” and obtain a full bio that included her home address, phone number, parent’s names, school, pictures and more. The demonstrations had a rare effect on the middle school students – they were literally speechless. To borrow a cliché, you could have heard a pin drop.

On the other hand, when Wallace announced that MYAC was providing each student with a free Sugar Land mouse pad listing Internet safety tips, there was a definite buzz of excitement.

Students participating in the presentations completed an Internet safety pledge, a document that each student signed and took home to share with their parents. Based on positive feedback from schools, students and parents, the Internet safety pilot program is expected to be expanded next year to every middle school in the Sugar Land area. Furthermore, MYAC, the Sugar Land Police Department and the Attorney General’s Office will conduct a similar series of educational seminars during the summer, yet this time, the intended audience will be parents.

Following the “youth education” phase of this program, the Sugar Land Police Department worked in conjunction with the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Division to conduct a “sting operation” based in the Sugar Land Police station. This operation illustrated how various state and local agencies can and do work well together in an effort to help eradicate crime in a community.

With numerous computer stations tactically positioned in what was referred to as the “Cyber Crime War Room,” six agents simultaneously held multiple chat room conversations with various individuals. It was frightening that within minutes, agents posing on-line as young children were propositioned, engaged in conversations and received photos that many parents would be embarrassed to even discuss with their children.

The bottom line – in less than two weeks, these agents arrested child predators showing up at the fictitious 13-year-old child’s home and now have plenty of evidence to make numerous arrests and convictions.

Wallace will be discussing this effort in a special session on Exploited and Missing Children being held Friday, June 2 during the 74th Annual Conference of Mayors. Contact Karen Glynn, Sugar Land Assistant City Manager, at 281-275-2700 for more information.