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Leanne Shirey is a sergeant with
the Seattle Police Department with over 27 years of experience.
She has been a member of the Northwest Regional Internet Crimes
Against Children Task Force, which investigates the sexual
exploitation of minors via the Internet. In her work she began
seeing a trend. Because of the lack of Internet safety education
for adults, these children were violated. She frequently heard
the phrase "if only I had known". She knew that most of these
cases were preventable if better education was available.
Because of this, she began to look for information she could
provide to parents in her community. She found three things
available: simple brochures with 5 to 6 safety tips; directions
to access web sites for further information; and one hour PTA
talks. These did not provide the concrete and comprehensive
information that she felt was needed. Many of the parents had
limited computer skills, lack of time, or lack of access to the
information. From these frustrations, The Internet and Your
Child programs and organization were born.
The Internet and Your Child Organization is a 501(c) 3
non-profit organization. Instructors are volunteer law
enforcement, educators and computer specialists from the
community. Our trainers undergo criminal history checks and
extensive training is provided to them trainers to make sure
they are the most skilled and knowledgeable instructors
possible. Non-law enforcement instructors undergo annual
criminal history checks.
Our goal is to provide comprehensive training to a community, as
well as being a resource to assist with other technology-related
issues.
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