1 day Ago
PITTSFIELD — Local leaders are raising awareness about internet safety at the start of National Child Abuse Prevention Month . "As technology rapidly evolves and internet access reaches new heights, our children face greater risks than ever before," said Heather Williamson, executive director of the Berkshire County Kids' Place & Violence Prevention Center . She spoke at the Wendell Avenue home that serves as a central location for supporting victims of child abuse through the criminal justice process.
Police chiefs from several Berkshire County communities, service providers and members of the office of Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue gathered for a "call to action" aimed at giving parents and students tools to stay safe online. The Kids' Place and the DA's office have begun providing educational presentations to school children in the country on the topic of online safety. They've been offered at BART Charter Public School and Nessacus Regional Middle School, and Andrew Giarolo, chief prosecutor of the Child Abuse Unit, with presentations later this month in Williamstown and Sheffield schools.
Brian Berkel is part of the team leading those presentations on behalf of the Kids' Place. He specializes in helping children who have fallen victim to commercial sexual exploitation. A double-pronged approach to promoting internet safety involves showing students how to recognize inappropriate advances online and avoiding solicitations for personal images or information, he said.
Safety online also involves educating parents and guardians — many of whom may not be as internet savvy as the children they seek to protect — how to talk to young people about their online lives. He also advised that parents monitor their children's devices, starting early and often. "We have to go back to some basics.
It's all about providing that openness for the kids to come to you, being that trusted adult, which means being able to listen, being able to be calm," he said. The DA's office and the Kids' Place are pointing those in the community looking for more resources about web safety for children to a free online program called NetSmartz , which was developed by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The organizations are also shining a spotlight on another tool from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children called Take It Down , which can be used to help prevent nude or sexually explicit videos or images of minors from being shared on participating websites.
Shugrue noted how multiple sting operations by state police and North Adams Police Chief Mark Bailey have recently ensnared defendants who allegedly were preying on children. And National Child Abuse Prevention Month continues, Shugrue said the DA's office will be focused on raising awareness about the hazards that exist online. "The only way we can really attack this problem efficiently is to talk about it," Shugrue said.
.
