Maj. Adam Flowers of Canadian County Sheriff’s office will once again return to the county children’s justice center to present information to parents about social media pitfalls – and how they can help their children avoid them.
“Parents should be especially aware of what their child is doing on social media – that’s really the place where they’re seeing a lot of cases involving child predators happen,” Flowers said. “And it is tough for lawmakers to keep up on changing trends.”
That’s why Flowers’ program is so important and is something that has been well-attended for years, officials said. The next session is set for 6:30 p.m. March 29 at Gary E. Miller Canadian County Children’s Justice Center.
“This is a way to help educate the community about awareness and safety measures and includes firsthand stories of crimes committed here in Canadian County,” Flowers said.
Social media trends change every day and communication streams like Snapchat and Tik Tok have become a place predators are lurking, waiting and watching for young adults to follow the latest Tik Tok challenges. But TikTok and Snapchat are far from the only challenges facing both families and law enforcement. Canadian County investigators currently monitor several other platforms, including Craigslist, Facebook; Glyph; Google Hangouts; Grindr; Kik; Line; Teen Chat; Telegram; Tiger Text; Tinder; Twitter; Twitch; Viber; Voxer; What’s App; and Xbox gamer forums.
“Platforms the task force focuses on are numerous and change frequently,” Flowers said. “We get so many new platforms a month – we don’t usually know what the popular one is until we’re about a month behind.”
Flowers heads Canadian County Sheriff’s Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Division, established by former Sheriff Randall Edwards in 2011. The task force not only works to fight online crimes locally but also serves in a larger capacity as part of a statewide effort, Flowers said.
“This task force, with help from Canadian County’s Sheriff’s Department, relies on tips from concerned citizens as well as investigators who pose as minors on various social media networks to sexually exploit minors,” he said.
The March 29 event is free and open to the public, although due to the subject matter presented, it is recommended for adults only, officials said. More information can be found online on Facebook at https://fb.me/e/3jLLrCXkU or on Eventbrite at shorturl.at/cprD6.
Canadian County Children’s Justice Center is located at 7905 E. Highway 66 in El Reno.
