The death of a teenager from Spring Valley is drawing attention to internet safety. Police believe Diamond Bradley who was found stabbed to death on January 27 along a rural county road, had agreed to meet Richard Henderson online.
Authorities believe Henderson picked up Bradley from her home and took her to Putnam County where they eventually fought and she was killed.He faces charges of concealing a homicide but additional charges are expected.
Law enforcement around central Illinois are encouraging families to sit down and talk with their children about the dangers that lurk on the internet.
According to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force 75% of teens report sharing personal information about their family or themselves to strangers online. It’s a major problem in the eyes of Peoria County Sheriff Brian Asbell, who says it’s on parents to start the conversation.
“You want to have those opening lines of communication,” said Asbell. He adds,”Police believe “You want to have it where you trust with one another. At the end of the day you are the parent, your in control here and have the means to take these devices away.”
Asbell recommends tracking apps, that are available on your smartphone.
Net Nanny allows you to control your kids’ internet activity remotely. Not only can you choose specific websites that you want blocked on your kids’ phones; you can also block types of websites, such as ones involving dating, nudity, pornography or tobacco. You can also set it so that you will get a warning if your child types in a certain keyword, such as “suicide.”
SecureTeen does even more: It gives your kids call logs, which means you know who your kids are calling, and who’s calling them. It even enables you to read your kids’ text messages.
TeenSafe may be the most advanced of all. Not only does track text messages and calls; it also pinpoints your child’s exact GPS location instantly.
And this technology is not just for smartphones: The apps also have desktop versions that can be installed right onto your kids’ laptops or computers to monitor their online activity under your own roof.
