Police – Reinforcing safety messages

A great many of you will have heard about the incident at Snells Beach a couple of weeks back. A child walking to school was spoken to by an adult sitting in a parked van. The child did not know this woman who spoke to them, promising lollies if the child got into their van. This seven-year-old did exactly the right thing, not stopping and immediately running to the school, which was a short distance away.

They later told their teacher what had happened, and the principal contacted the Police. It would seem, from footage recovered from a private house in the street, that the van was a white Toyota HiAce, but unfortunately no registration number was gained from the available film. The child has described the woman who spoke to them as having light coloured hair and the child thought that there could have been another person in the van.

Unfortunately, the van and occupants have not been identified at this time despite a comprehensive search of the available CCTV and extra police patrol resourcing over the days following this incident. One of the reasons so many of us have chosen to bring our kids up in smaller towns like Matakana, Snells Beach and Warkworth is that it feels safe for them to walk to and from the local school. Small communities usually look after their own and to my mind, putting the safety of our children first is the highest possible priority for our whole community. For someone to even suggest to a child that they should get into a car is criminal behaviour and I am still hopeful that the person responsible will be located and held to account.

In the meantime, there are things that parents can do to keep our precious children safe. Have that ‘stranger-danger’ talk with your child. Human brains take time to process new information and decide how to respond. If something has been practised, it feels familiar and reaction time is sped up. Tell your child how to respond to unwanted contact like the kind that happened to that child at Snells Beach recently. Practice the ideal response and get your child to show you that they know how they should respond.

Children instinctually obey adults and it’s important they understand when they absolutely should not engage with a stranger. I’m not looking to cause any parental panic with this column because acts as criminal and stupid as the one I have outlined are fortunately extremely rare. However, I would also be failing as both a parent and a police officer if I didn’t take every possible step to ensure those most vulnerable and precious to us are kept safe.

Have a talk to your child about what they should do if something like this happens to them. And finally, if you see someone who looks out of place when the kids are out and about, give the Police a call so we can check it out.
Stay safe everyone!