Fox 25 reports on law enforcement efforts to combat predators in virtual worlds like Kidsafe Island. Newburyport Police Inspector Brian Bruno patrols the virtual world Caneva as the avatar McGarrett50, while safety experts work to protect children and establish reporting channels for online threats.
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A local police detective keeping kids safe by going on patrol online.
Tonight at 10.
There are worlds where you can shop, play, hang out, all in a virtual world. Tonight, introducing a local police officer there as well, keeping things safe. Well, a real-life police officer in a virtual world. No, it's not a movie plot. It's all in a day's work for one Massachusetts detective.
Yeah, he's on the cutting edge of fighting online crime, hunting predators who target kids. Fox 75's Ted Daniel with more tonight. From Newburyport.
As one of only two detectives in Newburyport, Police Inspector Brian Bruno covers a lot of miles. Some in an unmarked police car.
Once we get there, then my avatar will appear.
The rest on foot in a whole other world. Bruno is one of only a handful of law enforcement officers in the country who actively patrol Caneva, an online 3D playground where anyone can chat, shop, dance, play games, or simply hang out. It's social networking on steroids.
The hands of, of a keyboard, um, people have a lot of power in these things.
In Caneva, Bruno uses the avatar McGarrett 50, named after Steve McGarrett from the popular 1970s detective show Hawaii Five-O. His home base is a place called Kidsafe Island. It was created by a North Carolina couple who run a child safety group called Kids Come First.
It's an organization monitored by civilians who, um, investigate, uh, sites and look for predators and pass the information on to law enforcement.
This is nothing like the police work Inspector Bruno's great-grandfather used to do in the early 1900s. But according to computer safety expert Robert Siciliano, In this day and age, it's needed. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports 1 in 5 kids have or will receive unwanted sexual solicitation online.
The virtual world online are a place where predators can disguise themselves as someone who they'd like to be or someone that you'd like them to be. And without law enforcement presence, uh, predators will run wild.
Bruno hopes his presence in the virtual world will discourage predators and give kids an outlet if they need one. Along with striking up conversations, McGarrett Five-O also mans a virtual police station. If kids don't feel comfortable reporting concerns to him here, they can call him directly. His desk number is displayed on a virtual wall.
If we're able to expose a predator and we're able to successfully get him prosecuted, that will send a message to all the other predators out there.
We recognize we're making a very small dent in the overall scheme of things, but I think it's important never to give up.
So if you don't see this detective solving crimes on the streets, just log on to the virtual world and chances are you'll find him doing the same there. In Newburyport, I'm Ted Daniel, Fox 25 News.
And we do have more tips on making sure your kids are safe online.
Just log on to our website, myfoxboston.com, click on News and Specials.
