Oswego County Sheriff Provides Tips on How You Can
Teach Your Children to Protect Themselves

“Talking to children about certain dangers to their personal safety makes many adults uneasy,” said Sheriff Reuel A. Todd of Oswego County. It’s difficult and painful to acknowledge that there are people around who want to harm children. Children have a right to know about potential threats to their safety and what to do if they find themselves in trouble.

Here’s some basic knowledge to increase your children’s confidence and self-reliance in keeping themselves out of potential danger:

• Never accept rides, candy, gifts, money, or medicine from a stranger.
• Never get close to a car if a stranger calls out to you for directions or anything else. It is easy for a stranger to pull you into a car.
• If a stranger in a car bothers you, turn and run in the opposite direction.
• Never give your name and address to a stranger.
• Never open the door to anyone you don’t know.
• Never tell callers that you’re home alone. Say Mom or Dad can’t come to the phone and will call back.
• Never volunteer family vacation plans or other information about your home.
• Always avoid strangers who are hanging around restrooms or the playground and want to play with you and your friends.
• If a stranger tries to follow you (on foot) or tries to grab you, run away, scream, and make lots of noise.
• When frightened, run to the nearest person you can find – a police officer, a person working in the yard, or a neighborhood house or store.

“While it is important for a child to know how to avoid and spot danger, it is also critical for a child to know how to respond quickly and wisely when confronted with trouble,” says Sheriff Todd. Children should understand that there are many people they can depend on and should turn to when they feel unsafe.

“Teach children that the police are friends whose job it is to protect them,” said the Sheriff. It’s also important to let children know that they should seek out a trusted teacher, a neighbor, or a friend’s parent if a police officer can’t be located easily.

“Teach children how to operate the telephone to call for emergency assistance,” added Sheriff Todd. They should know how to dial “0,” “911,” or other emergency numbers used in your area. Have them memorize their area code and phone number, and maybe a friend’s number as well.

“No one likes to think about all possible threats to a child’s personal safety and well-being,” concluded the Sheriff, “but a safe child is one who knows what to do when trouble happens, and you’ll feel better knowing they know how to cope when you’re not around.”

Oswego County Sheriff Issues Warning About Con Men

The onset of spring brings thoughts of making home improvements and repairs, “But, watch out for dishonest home repair firms,” warns Oswego County Sheriff, Reuel A. Todd.

The Sheriff offers some tips on how you can avoid fraudulent home improvement and repair schemes:

• Be leery of offers to do an expensive job for an unusually low price. Once you sign the contract, you learn why: they never deliver the service.
  
  
• Be suspicious of high-pressure sales tactics.
  
  
• Shop around. Ask friends, neighbors, or co-workers for references. Always get several estimates for every repair job and compare the prices and terms. Check to see if there is a charge for estimates before asking for one to be done.
  
  
• Before choosing a firm, ask the firm for references and check them out. When you find people you trust, stick with them.
  
  
• Check the identification of all “inspectors.”
  
  
• Call the local Consumer Affairs Office or Better Business Bureau to check the company's reputation before you authorize any work to be done.
  
  
• Pay by check, never with cash. Arrange to make payments in installments, one-third at the beginning of the job, one-third when the work is nearly completed, and one-third after the job is done.

“Sometimes you might not know you've been cheated until it's too late,” the Sheriff stated. “If you don't report fraud, you're only helping the crooks; that's just what they want.”

Sheriff stresses to report any and all fraud you've been a victim of by contacting the Sheriff's office or your local police. If you're a victim of fraud, they want to know about it. In addition, contact your local District Attorney or the New York State Attorney General's Consumer Fraud Division.

“If we all take special precautions,” Sheriff Todd concluded, “we can all outsmart the dishonest people.”