Story Created:
Apr 10, 2008 at 5:41 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Apr 11, 2008 at 7:25 PM EDT
Two local police agencies are working with kids on MySpace to prevent predators from contacting them on the social networking site. For some local teenagers, MySpace is a big no-no.
"My parents told me that if I ever got one, I would be in trouble," said Stephanie Strzepek, a high school senior.
But for others, the social networking site is a way of life.
"Whenever you're on the computer, you just kind of check it," said Liz Sullivan, another senior. "See what's going on."
"It's a really great tool for people to show pictures and fun times and write messages to each other," said Andrew Derminio, also another senior.
But with the fun of staying in touch, comes the danger of child predators trolling cyber-space for victims.
"I got some weird friend requests...and some weird messages," said senior Justin Smith.
"Random people do send messages," said Sullivan. "It's kind of weird. You'll read it and it says hey, just want to see what's up. I'm 24. I'm 17 years old in high school. You shouldn't even be looking at my profile. It's just weird."
That's where the Herkimer and Mohawk Police Departments come in. They want to be your kid's number one friend on MySpace - hoping this patch with deter the bad guys.
"If the opportunity exists, you never know," said Officer Jody Wheet of the Herkimer Police Department. "But hopefully, we can stop it before it happens."
And if the patch isn't enough to keep the potential predators away, your kid will have easy access to the police, as another line of defense.
"They can send us an email, instant message; they can contact us if they run into a problem with a predator," Wheet said. "Somebody trying to approach them."
So what do teens really think of this top friend initiative?
"I'm sure that could strike enough fear into some predators, but some predators wouldn't even notice it," Smith said.
"It's for safety," Sullivan said. "So I'd do it."
It's a program that's just getting started, but police say they hope it takes off soon.
For more information, you can check out the police departments' MySpace pages at
www.myspace.com/herkimerpd or
www.myspace.com/mohawkpd
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