Handling Reports of Attempted Child Luring

Summit's police chief balances the need to inform with the need to avoid panic.

When a Summit elementary school student reported to school staff that a tan SUV had followed her, she did the right thing, said Police Chief Robert Weck. But the incident, which occured Wednesday morning in front of Brayton School, isn't being considered an attempted luring incident by police just yet. "Our detective and juvenile bureaus are investigating this," said Weck. Cops have vetted all the information in the case, and so far are calling this a suspicious incident. There have been luring reports in recent days that have stretched from Cranford, to the search for a luring suspect in Morristown. A string of incidents in Bergen County — over a dozen reported — including a report of a 12-year-old who said he was offered money to enter a…

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Child Safety Locks Deemed Unsafe

The Safety 1st toilet and cabinet locks were sold at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Burlington Coat Factory, Home Depot, Target and Walmart.

Hundreds of thousands of child safety locks are being recalled because they can fail, exposing children to dangerous situations. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with Dorel Juvenile Group, Thursday announced a voluntary recall of about 183,000 toilet locks and 685,000 cabinet locks. Young children can unexpectedly disengage the toilet locks and gain access to water in the toilet, posing the risk of drowning, according to the CPSC, and the cabinet locks are being recalled because young children can disengage the lock, posing the risk of injury from dangerous or unsafe items stored in the cabinet. Have you had issues with these locks or others not working? Tell us in the comments below. Consumers …

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Parents Talk Q&A

How Do You Teach Your Kids To Stay Safe?

A misunderstanding can serve as an important reminder and an opportunity to talk to our kids.

The Chatham Township Police Department issued a Nixle Alert Monday afternoon warning that there had been an attempted luring of two teenage girls on Fairview Avenue that afternoon. A few hours later, the police determined that the "entire incident was a misunderstanding." As parents breathe a sigh of relief, the reality is that we must teach our children how to stay safe when we are not with them. The last thing parents want to think about is a child abduction in the Chatham or Madison area. Why not let this misunderstanding serve as an important reminder to check in with our kids and talk to them about what they should do if presented with a troublesome situation. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has some helpful …

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