A Content Analysis of Youth Internet Safety Programs: Are Effective Prevention Strategies Being Used?

ABSTRACT: Almost half of youth in the U.S. report receiving internet safety education (ISE) in their schools. Unfortunately, we know little about what educational messages make a difference in problems such as cyberbullying, sexting, or online predators. To consider directions for improving effectiveness, a content analysis was conducted on materials from four ISE programs. Results indicate that ISE programs are mostly not incorporating proven educational strategies. Common ISE messages have proliferated without a clear rationale for why they would be effective. It is recommended that program developers and other stakeholders reconsider ISE messages, improve educational strategies, and participate in evaluation. The field must also consider whether ISE messages would be better delivered through broader youth safety prevention programs versus stand-alone lessons

Public opinion and policy on crime prevention in Europe

In this second monitor report the focus is put on people’s perceptions and attitudes on the one hand, and on priorities in crime prevention policies across Europe on the other hand. What does the general public think about the police: their relationship with the communities, their effectiveness in preventing crime, their fairness with which they wield their authoritative power, their integrity,...? What do Europeans think of the effectiveness of policies on the different levels (national vs. European)? What do they believe to be the challenges to the security in the prevention and fight against crime? These are some questions approached in this report. The information and data used to answer these questions come from the Trust in the Police & Courts Module of the European Social Survey and from the Eurobarometer surveys conducted by the European Commission. Besides these existing survey data, the EUCPN Secretariat collected some additional data from the EUCPN members on the priorities in the crime prevention policies in their countries. More specifically, questions were asked about the country’s top three priorities in crime prevention policy/strategy and compared to the country’s three most prominent crime problems based on crime statistics. Also, it was examined whether or not the top three priorities in the country’s crime prevention policy were based on statistical or recorded data, or – if not – what other basis was used to pick these priorities. And finally, some questions were added about any remarkable or new developments in the Member States over the past five years

Education of Young People and Children as a Way of Fighting Against Internet Hate, a Form of Cyber Violence

Due to highly innovative technologies such as the smartphone, cyber- bullying and on-line, aggression has increasingly affected individuals across the world. Cyber-bullying is defined as repeated unwanted, hurtful, harassing, and threatening interaction through electronic communication media. Anonymity and mobility afforded by the Internet have made harassment and expressions of hate effortless in a landscape that is abstract and beyond the realms of traditional law enforcement. Further, it argues that a broad coalition of government, schools, police and citizenry is likely to be most effective in reducing the harm caused by hate speech. The study discusses the targets of hate on the Internet, provides a framework within which problems can be identified and resolved by accentuating moral and social responsibility, and articulates possible solutions to combat with this increasing problem

Suffering in silence: children and unreported crime

This report presents the findings of a Scoping Inquiry into the hidden victimisation of children and young people, undertaken on behalf of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Victims and Witnesses of Crime. The Inquiry was commissioned in response to findings from the most recent Crime Survey for England and Wales which indicates that less than one-fifth of children and young people who experience theft or violent crime report this to the police. The charity Victim Support, who provides the secretariat to the APPG, undertook research for the Inquiry in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire. Evidence was gathered in four ways: • a short review of existing literature; • an analysis of relevant data sources including the Crime Survey for England and Wales; • a rapid call for evidence from charities, service providers, statutory bodies and campaigners; and • three focus groups with children and young people

Online victimization: A report on the nation’s youth.

The Internet is an exciting new territory for many young people. Nearly 24 million youth ages 10 through 17 were online regularly in 1999, and millions more are expected to join them shortly. They go there to Iearn, play, meet people, and explore the world. But stories from law-enforcement officials, parents, and young people themselves suggest that not every online adventure is a happy one. The Internet has a seamier side that young people seem to he encountering with great frequency. This national survey confirms many of the stories. Large numbers of young people are encountering sexual solicitations they did not want, sexual material they did not seek, and people who threatened and harassed them in a variety of ways. While many are able to glide past these encounters as mere litter on the information super highway, some experience them as real collisions with a reality they did not expect and were distressed to find. Some of these young people report being upset and afraid in the wake of their encounters and have elevated symptoms of stress and depression. This report describes the variety of disconcerting experiences young lnternet users say they have online and ways they react. It also provides a window into how families and young people are addressing matters of danger and protection on the Internet. Some of the news is reassuring. At the same time, it suggests that the seamy side of the Internet spills into the lives of an uncomfortably large number of youth and relatively few families or young people do much about it. It highlights a great need for private and public initiatives to raise awareness and provide solutions. Nothing in this report contradicts the increasingly well-documented fact that youth and their families are excited about the Internet and its possibilities. They are voting for the Internet with their fingers and pocket books, even as they are aware of some of its drawbacks. But because it is destined to play such an important role in the lives of those growing up today, the question of how to temper some of the drawbacks of this revolutionary medium is worthy of thorough consideration now at the dawn of its development