Online Safety:

The Internet and computers also play a growing role in sex crimes committed against children, according to a 2003 study by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

That study showed law enforcements at all levels made an estimated 2,577 arrests in 2000 for Internet sex crimes against minors. Of those arrests, 39 percent were for Internet crimes against identified victims involving Internet-related sexual assaults and other crimes such as child pornography. Locally, that number is relatively low -- only two arrests were made last year -- according to local officials. Both cases involved an adult soliciting a juvenile online. However, with the increase in Internet usage among children nationwide -- 73 percent of children ages 12 to 17 use the Internet regularly according to a survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project -- online sex crimes are a problem.

That's why Caddo sheriff's deputy Lt. Bill Duncan offers free seminars through the Caddo Parish Sheriff's office for parents and children that teaches them how to be safe online. "You often have children who generally know more about the computer and Internet than their parents, so this program is mainly to get them acquainted with the Internet and give them a heads up on what they can protect their children from," he said.

Duncan also practices what he preaches. "If my son can't tell me who the person is he's chatting with, then it's time to be concerned." Communication is the key, Duncan said, and don't be intimidated by your lack of computer knowledge. "One of the main things I tell parents is to talk to their kids. That way the child will be more open to tell them what's going on in their lives," he said.

Cason said that was the first thing she did after she attended the seminar Duncan held for the Caddo District PTA. "When I came home, I talked to my daughter about it. She's very computer savvy, as most teens are, but some of the stuff I told her about was news to her too, which surprised me even more," she said. Parents should also consider keeping their computer in an open area of the house, Duncan stressed. That way no one can hide what they're doing.

Cason's 18-year-old daughter Valerie Cason, a senior at Captain Shreve High School agrees. "Sometimes, when it comes to a teenage kids' curiosity, there's just too much available out there for them to find the wrong stuff," she said. "I've even accidentally typed incorrect information and the wrong stuff came up."

Be cautious of Internet chat rooms, Duncan warned parents. "Sometimes, children include detailed information such as their name, school name, etc. in their profile. The more detailed the profile, the higher the chances that they would be targeted," he said. "Where to draw the line just depends on a parent and the maturity of the child. I would say don't allow your child to even go into chat rooms if they're under middle school age because they're more susceptible to being tricked, but you still need to keep up no matter how old they are."

Valerie Cason remembers a particularly embarrassing incident when she was younger. "When I was in the seventh grade, my friends and I were on the Internet at home, my mom was in the next room, and we were in a teen chat room and somehow it was connected to another chat room and all of a sudden, this very inappropriate picture came up and we couldn't get it off the screen," Valerie Cason said. "But I know a lot of technology has come out since then to prevent that kind of thing from happening as much."

Mariah Underwood of Shreveport often monitors her two grandchildren, ages 6 and 17, while they're on the Internet. "(Duncan) told us how these predators can make sexual approaches to your children even through e-mail and that's one area I was really concerned with because you don't know who they're talking to all the time," said Underwood, president of the Caddo District PTA. "So, I try to screen and see what's going on." And don't hesitate to utilize parental controls, which most Internet service providers offer either as a free or discounted option.

Valerie Cason said such controls and filtering have really helped on school computers and she believes it's especially important for pre-teens. "At school so many things are blocked on the Internet now and that helps out a lot. Even some things you want to access, you can't, but that's better than accessing the wrong thing.

www.getnetwise.org  a Web site for tips on online safety, provided the following list of Internet service providers, which offer this service. Check their Web site for more information:

AOL: AOL Parental Controls are included at no additional charge. You can select predetermined limits for e-mail, Web and chat or you can create your own custom controls for each child.

AT&T WorldNet Service: Offers free, downloadable filtering software Cyber Patrol and CyberSnoop. Cyber Patrol and its companion software Kids Cyber Highway is free for the first year.

MSN Parental Controls: Allows you control access to Web content, manages your child's e-mail and provides a weekly report of his or her online activities. The service is free for the first two months and $9.95 per month thereafter.

SBC Yahoo! Parental Controls: A free service for subscribers of SBC Yahoo! Dial and SBC Yahoo! DSL.