I think this is a great idea in preparation for the World Cup...
Kids get their own police database
Aletta Gardner | 5 Hours Ago
A new programme to register young children on a police database is being rolled out in Fish Hoek.
It is hoped the scheme will make it easier to trace missing children and minimise the risk to youngsters, especially with the influx of foreign visitors during the World Cup.
The police have been visiting crèches and day care centres to take fingerprints and collect photographs of children up to the age of 10.
The initiative is the brainchild of Detective Sargeant Nicci Damon from the Fish Hoek Police Station, who said the idea is to have the information first hand.
“If a child gets lost or [goes] missing or whatever the case may be, we will then be able to trace and investigate because most parents don’t have a recent photo of the child,” she said.
She said as well as the ID information, they have thought of ways to help protect children too young to remember their personal details.
She explained they will be fitted with an ID-band on their wrist that contains all their information.
Damon said the programme is not a result of many children going missing in the area.
“Why wait for a child to get lost before you actually implement something? This is actually a crime prevention campaign. Last week was Child Protection week and we had to come up with ideas or projects [that can also be used] for the duration of the World Cup," she said.
(Edited by Danya Philander)
http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=40920
