Protecting kids from online predators

Announced Tuesday, County agencies in Santa Cruz are starting a new program to help parents deal with the digital dangers face everyday.

The Santa Cruz Public Libraries, along with others agencies like the police department, and Office of Education, started Cybersecurity Workshops.

The internet can be a playground for games, a useful tool when studying, but it can also be a haven for child predators.

“When you are connected to the internet you have the potential to connect to billions of people,” said Internet provide Chris Neklason.

Neklason said sometimes those people aren’t always who they said they are. A father of three himself, Neklason said communication is by far the best tool there is when it comes to protecting your kid online. That’s what he and other experts hope to teach parents in the Cybersecurity Workshops.

According to The Homeland Security, 74 percent of parents admit to not knowing about their children’s online behavior.

“The best thing to do is have an open relationship with your child and talk with them about how things are going and what to look out for,” said Neklason.

Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeff Rosell agrees. He said online crimes break down into three categories: Financial, stalking, and people who prey on children. And the problem is getting worse.

“As social media and all those things become more embedded in all of our lives what were seeing is an increase in those type of crimes,” said Rosell.

Because child predators can literally anywhere. These cases can be the most difficult to solve, but Rosell said they can also be the easiest to prevent. All it takes is a little communication.

The first cyber security workshop is Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Aptos branch library. It’s free and open to the public.