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“NATIONAL NIGHT OUT SUPPORTS THE NATIONAL CHILD IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1564-E1565 on July 23, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT SUPPORTS THE NATIONAL CHILD IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM
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HON. KEVIN BRADY
of texas
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the National Association of Town Watch and its National Night Out program for supporting the National Child Identification Program (NCIDP), a joint partnership between the American Football Coaches Association and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to provide identification kits to parents and guardians to help locate missing children. In addition, I applaud the AFCA and the FBI in their efforts to register 2 million more children in the NCIDP by August 5, 2003, the same day that National Night Out will celebrate its 20th anniversary.
The National Association of Town Watch (NATW), a national nonprofit community-crime prevention association located in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, organizes the annual National Night Out. The National Night Out program develops relationships between local community and law enforcement officers in order to build safer and more secure neighborhoods to reduce crime, decreases local violence, and lowers the demand for drugs. NATW provides information, program support and technical assistance to local citizens and communities to support community-crime prevention. The National Night Out campaign involves citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations and local officials from 9,850 communities from all 50 States and U.S. territories. In all, 33 million people participated in National Night Out in 2002.
I have participated in National Night Out several times and seen first hand its effectiveness in creating and supporting community crime watch programs. National Night Out has a greater presence in my State of Texas than any other state in the nation and the one in The Woodlands, Texas, my home town, has been named a national community-
watch award winner for several years running.
As we all know, child safety and child protection have grown as important priorities for communities in recent years. Throughout its history, National Night Out has used its community crime-prevention message and its community-based networks to address major crime-related issues. National Night Out has proven to be a powerful tool for building stronger, safer neighborhoods, reaching more than 33 million Americans in nearly 10,000 cities and towns in 2002, making it the Nation's largest grassroots crime-prevention program.
This year, National Night Out will support the NCIDP in its efforts to provide parents with I.D. kits to collect and keep specific information, such as fingerprints, that would give authorities vital information in cases of missing children. While more than 800,000 children a year are estimated to be missing each year, less than 2 percent of all parents had a copy of a child's fingerprints to use in case of emergency. This initiative can change that reality and help protect children.
Mr. Speaker, supporting the NCIDP is just one example of the value of the National Night Out program and the important role of NATW. National Night Out, which receives part of its funding from the Edward Byrne Memorial Grant program, is one of the fastest growing, cost effective community anti-crime programs in the nation. I understand the value of National Night Out and, as a result, have asked appropriators on the Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary Appropriations Subcommittee to support National Night Out funding.
Mr. Speaker, for consideration by my colleagues, I have enclosed a memorandum on the NCIDP from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to mayors across the United States explaining this year's National Night Out initiative in more detail. I respectfully request that it be included in the Record.
Department of Justice,
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Clarksburg, WV, April 11, 2003.Re community call to action.
Letter to All Honorable Mayors
According to a U.S. Department of Justice study, about 58,200 children are abducted each year by non-family members with about 45 percent of those incidents being perpetrated by strangers. This startling statistic caused the American Football Coaches Association (NFL, NCAA, and high school coaches nationwide) to launch the National Child Identification Program (NCIDP). The FBI has partnered with the Coaches Association in this not-for-profit program with the goal of providing inkless fingerprint identification
(I.D.) kits far all 60 million children in the United States.
The FBI is separately partnered with National Night Out which recently has also partnered with the AFCA's National Child lD Program in an effort to further increase awareness for child safety. The National Association of Town Watch introduced National Night Out, ``America's Night Out Against Crime,'' in 1984 and continues to heighten awareness and strengthen participation in anticrime efforts throughout communities nationwide. National Night Out, the NCIDP, and the FBI hope to set a record on August 5, 2003, for the most ID kits distributed within a single day in history.
In an effort to reach our goal, we are encouraging every city across the U.S. to participate in the National Night Out on Tuesday, August 5, 2003. Information for obtaining NCIDP's inkless fingerprint ID kits for the National Night Out may be found at its website http://www.nutw.org/nno/. The National Night Out website provides you with complete information on how to plan your event, as well as a way to obtain supplies, including the child ID kit. Registration for the event is free and once registered, you will receive an organizational kit filled with ``how to'' materials such as: promotional ideas, guidelines, tips, Q&As, camera-ready art, sample news releases, and proclamations. Act quickly so that you do not miss this opportunity to communicate the issues of safety with your community on August 5, 2003. Registration is easy and can be completed online by following these four easy steps: Identify a Contact Person; go to the National Night Out website http://www.nutw.org/nno/; register online, it's free; and publicize your event.
Many law enforcement agencies and corporations are currently combining the distribution of the NCIDP kits with other prevention, drug awareness, violence education, and community outreach programs. For more information on the NCIDP and how you can help protect children in your community, visit their website at www.childidprogram.com or call (234) 630-2245.
It is paramount that we do all we can to ensure the safety of our children. Your organization can be a prime vehicle in that endeavor. Thank you for your help in this important cause.
John S. Hooks, Jr.,
Deputy Assistant Director,Policy, Administrative and Liaison Branch.
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