The Gage County MAPS Community Coalition is distributing 1,000 copies of ComputerCOP Parental Internet Monitoring Software, Premium Edition free to parents in Gage County as part of its community outreach efforts and the ever-increasing acknowledgement of the dangers children face online.

The software, which sells for $39.95 online, enables parents with little or no computer skills to quickly see what their children have been doing online, including what MySpace or FaceBook photos they have posted and if they have been chatting or emailing inappropriate content about themselves or others.

Unfortunately, the computer has become a popular medium by which children harass and bully one another. And ComputerCOP's new and improved features address this problem directly. One of ComputerCOP's most effective features is its keystroke capture utility that alerts parents by email if their child is using inappropriate text. This feature, which the parent has the option to install, is activated and text is captured once a suspicious word or phrase is typed. Parents can enhance the capture feature by adding to the pre-set capture keywords with their own text such as email addresses and/or names.

In addition to chat and images, ComputerCOP will also show parents any web sites visited that have been flagged as containing one or more of the 2,000 keywords or phrases for which the program searches. The keywords searched for can be of a pornographic, drug-related or violent or hateful nature or could be a word or phrases a pedophile might use to solicit or groom a child online. The database was developed with the help of several law enforcement agencies including the F.B.I..

The funding for this effort was received from Region V Prevention Systems and the Gage County Foundation. Gage County MAPS Community Coalition worked in cooperation with the Beatrice Police Department, the Wymore Police Department, the Gage County Sheriff's Department and the Gage County Attorney.

The ComputerCOP dvd is available free of charge for pick-up during regular business hours at the Gage County Sheriff's Department, the Beatrice and the Wymore Police Department.

Law enforcement advises parents that if they find any suspicious material or if they suspect that their child may have been solicited online to call the 402-223-4080 immediately.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Child Safety Seat Check

August 18th

Beatrice School Administration Parking Lot from 10am-1pm.

 Is your child's vehicle restraint installed correctly? The majority are not!  Is your child as safe as they can be while riding in the vehicle with you?  We would like to help you ensure that they are as safe as possible while on our roads.  Please attend the FREE Child Restraint Inspection Center held at the Beatrice Public Schools Administration Parking Lot at 6^th and Elk Streets in Beatrice.  The event will be on Saturday, August 18^th from 10:00am to 1:00pm and there will be nationally certified technicians there to assist you in understanding how to properly install and use approved safety equipment for the safest ride for you and your children.

Limited seats avaliable with a donation, made possible by the Family Resource Center Coalition of Nebraska.  Location made possible by the Beatrice Public Schools, and Techs and Instructors from Safe Kids Southeast, and representing the Beatrice Police Department and the Beatrice Community Hospital.

 Please bring your new or existing child restraint, child that uses or will be using the child restraint, vehicle to be used to transport the child and all owners manuals for the vehicle and seat that you have.

 Appointments accepted and appreciated, call the Beatrice Police Department to schedule an appointment with Officer Lauenstein at 402-223-4080.  Appointments can be made Monday-Friday from 8am-4pm, or leave a message to be returned during those times.