Help Keep Your Child Safe – Download The FBI Child ID APP For Free

My articles in the past several issues of the Safety Report dealt with child safety in the car and in the home. Many of you have written that you enjoyed stories about when I fell out of a car or when I stuck a knife in an electrical socket. I was also on a submarine that flooded at a depth of 200 feet, was carjacked at gunpoint in LA, and served a year in Vietnam. I’m fortunate to have made it this far with my wonderful wife Penny of 40 years and five loving children and two grandsons. Don’t we all worry about the safety of our kids and grandkids? Here’s a new iPhone app I came across that I want to share with you and urge you to download.

Let’s assume you’re shopping at the mall with your children when one of them suddenly disappears. A quick search of the nearby area is unsuccessful. What do you do?

Now there’s a new tool from the FBI that can help. In August 2011, The FBI launched Child ID app-the first mobile application created by the FBI. It provides a convenient place to electronically store photos and vital information about your children so that it’s literally right at hand if you need it. You can show the pictures and provide physical identifiers such as height and weight to security or police officers on the spot.

Using a special tab on the app, you can also quickly and easily e-mail the information to authorities with a few clicks. There is no charge for the app. Also, and just as important, the app also includes tips on keeping children safe as well as specific guidance on what to do in those first few crucial hours after a child goes missing.

I encourage you to share the word about this app with family and friends, especially during upcoming activities in your communities to raise awareness on crime and drug prevention.