Computer Game for Safe Kids - 03/02/01 05:07 AM
Game Spotlights Predators
By Dave Clark, correspondent
SUMMARY: A new weapon in the war against
pedophiles is a video game. First launched in Canada,
the interactive whodunit is coming to America.
According to Drew Ann Wake, co-producer of "Missing,"
her interactive game tells the story of a boy who was
lured online to meet a predator.
"The game player plays the role of a police officer who is
trying to find the boy and searches for him throughout
California," Wake said.
She said the game is based on the true story of a child in
Vancouver, B.C., Canada, who was approached by
somebody on the Internet.
Already honored by the Smithsonian Institute, the game
alerts kids to the subtle dangers of the Internet.
Kimberly Mitchell, with the Crimes Against Children
Research Center at the University of New Hampshire,
said training is sorely needed.
"Among kids between the ages of 10 and 17, one in five
reported receiving an unwanted sexual solicitation or
approach in the past year," Mitchell said.
The intent of "Missing" is to teach children to beware.
Web Wise Kids will soon distribute the game to selected
schools in America. Spokesman Judi Warren said kids
love the drama.
"As they play the game, they self-learn the things that go
on and the way that predators can draw kids into
relationships and then draw them offline," Warren said.
Wake added: "We find that the kids are able to begin to
dissect what it is that the boy has done wrong and how
he's gotten himself into this pickle."
Mike Heimbach, chief of the FBI's Crimes Against
Children Unit, said the lessons can't be learned too
early.
"We're seeing a 1,260-something percentage increase in
the number of cases we're working," Heimbach said.
"Where the end is, I don't know."
Perhaps "Missing" will be a good start.
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