Most everyone is disturbed by the thought of a grown man pretending to be the same age as a young child and talking with them over the Internet. Some of these adults are interested in meeting the child with the intent to perform sexual acts with them. Not every adult chatting is an online predator. Law enforcement tries to imitate young children also with the hopes of catching an adult who is looking to take advantage of a child. Series like Dateline MSNBC's "To Catch a Predator" allows the public to see the dangers of talking to strangers on the Internet and what the police are doing in order to catch sexual predators. The show helps educate people and alert communities of the dangers of sexual predators. The FBI's publication of "A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety" is another effective way to help prevent these crimes. It allows families to learn how to safely use the Internet and the guidelines to follow when faced with a predator. The website Family Watchdog shows the locations of registered sex offenders and where they live. Although this service seems helpful, some people on the map are more dangerous than others. For example, a 19 year old who is dating a 15 year old, can be charged as a sex offender. I feel that people like this are far less dangerous compared to a 50 year old who is trying to have sexual encounters with a 12 year old. However, when looking at Family Watchdog, both will be displayed with the same title. Therefor, exposing some people on Family Watchdog as criminals can negatively affect their lives and possibilities of succeeding in life.
These measures provide decent protection from sexual predators. Ultimately, it is up to parents to know how to safely monitor their children online and also where they are going when not with their parents. Providing children with tips of what to do when faced with a predator can help save the child and also help catch the criminal. Even with laws set in place and the different resources provided to help stop sexual predators, the problem will still occur. I think it is impossible to stop these people all together, but there is not much more that the nation can do to help fight the cause.