Reno Police: Parents can protect children from predators by monitoring their devices

By following Arrest of a Washoe County school district employee accused of having sex with a 14-year-old student Reno police are sharing advice for parents who want to take extra steps to protect their children.

Public Information Officer Chris Johnson told 2 News Nevada on Thursday that most sexual crimes against minors occur online, over the Internet, so parents should routinely check their child’s electronic devices.

“When I talk about being proactive – knowing who your child is talking to, understanding the new apps that your child is using, looking at the news and the things that they are watching to really take that proactive approach so that we can keep our children safe,” he said Johnson.

Parental control settings and monitoring apps allow parents to remotely check their children’s devices. Parents can also physically search their child’s phone.

“As a parent, if you say, ‘Hey, this is my phone or tablet that I’m letting you use,’ that doesn’t create a sense of ownership and attachment for the device for the child,” Johnson said.

He added that parents should talk to their children about aggressive behavior on the Internet.

“Be honest,” he said. “Be honest, people on the internet will try to contact you, potentially to get you to do things you don’t want to do. Having this difficult conversation with kids in our community helps build parent-child relationships, but it also helps build awareness because then your child will also be talking to their friends at school.”