TUCSON, Ariz. - The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) created the Take 25 campaign to encourage families to take 25 minutes to talk to their children about safety and abduction prevention. NCMEC estimates that 800,000 children are reported missing in America every year, which is more than 2,000 children each day. Fortunately, most of these children are quickly located.
NCMEC has found that in 51% of attempted abduction cases, children escaped would-be abductors through their own actions. 32% of the children actively resisted (yelling, kicking, pulling away, running away, or attracting attention). Even more inspiring is that in 17%
of these cases, a parent or another individual intervened to rescue the child. Teaching and reassuring children about safety - without scaring them - requires a delicate balance. Take 25 provides parents tools and age-appropriate suggestions for approaching the topic of safety with their children.
“The annual Take 25 national child safety campaign is particularly important this time of year, when children begin their summer breaks from school and have more time on their hands" said U.S. Attorney John S. Leonardo. “We encourage parents to take time and pledge to talk with their children about safety and abduction prevention. We hope that the tools and information provided at this year’s Take 25 event will assist families in keeping their children safe."
This year, the United States Attorney’s Office, in partnership with the U.S. Marshals Service, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tucson Police Department, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office, and the Arizona Child Advocacy Center, will offer a Take 25 child safety event at the Tucson Children’s Museum. This event is designed to help parents and others teach children to be alert to potential threats and provide steps that children can take to stay safe, both on the Internet and in daily life.
The event will be held on Monday, June 30, 2014 at the Children’s Museum Tucson, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Information regarding child safety will be provided, and law enforcement representatives will be available to speak with children and parents. In addition, interactive children’s self-defense demonstrations by Ko Sho Martial Training Institute will be scheduled throughout the day, and digital child identification kits will be provided free of charge to those that attend.
For more information on NCMEC, visit www.missingkids.com. For more information about the Take 25 campaign, visit www.Take25.org. For more information on Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
RELEASE NUMBER: 2014-036_Take_25_Tucson
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
