Being Safety Smart - Teaching children protective behaviours using an online game

The child safety awareness project ('Being Safety Smart') aims to reduce the incidence of child abduction by increasing children's awareness of situations that might impact upon their personal safety and empowering them with the ability to act appropriately when these situations arise. Between 1995 and 2004, the rate of abduction in Australia increased from 2.5 to 3.8 victims per 100,000 population. Throughout this period the rate of kidnapping of persons aged 19 or less has been more than twice as high as of persons aged 20 and over. In 2004, of the 768 people who were abducted, 69 percent were female, while the rate for fema les aged 10-19 years was 17.5 per 100,000. The most vulnerable age for abduction and abuse is between 7 and 13 years. The project has researched and compiled antiabduction strategies for children aged 6 to 8; developed interactive multimedia activities with which children can learn safety awareness strategies in the safe and control led environment of their classroom; eva luated child learning gains in personal safety associated with participation with the on line games-based environment; and monitored and measured the effect of the messages on child behaviour. Provide child ren with knowledge, skills and training in protective behaviours to prevent abductions. Child abduction was brought to public attention with the disappearance of Daniel Morcombe in 2003. The project is developed in partnerships with the Queensland Police Service, the Crime and Misconduct Commission, Education Queensland and the Daniel Morcombe Foundation. Being Safety Smart is in final evaluation stages in schools, with over 70 schools registered to use across Au stra lia. The project recently won the QPS 2009 State Gold Award for Excellence in Crime Prevention