What parents can do to protect their children

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Staff Reports

San Dimas – According to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department San Dimas Station, when threats to any person occur, they take them very seriously and investigate to whatever extent possible.  When threats involve children and teens, it necessitates significant attention from law enforcement, schools and parents.

Recently, threats were posted via a social media account from anonymous persons. The threats and denigrating messages were directed at a student at a local school in San Dimas. Immediate steps were taken to ensure the safety of the intended target of the threats, and to address the safety of all students at the school.

School officials have cooperated and assisted investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in identifying potential sources of the threats. The forensic investigation – the legal and technical process of identifying the persons who created the accounts and the devices or locations used – will take some time. In the meantime, school and law enforcement personnel will take the reasonable steps necessary to protect the students. The Sheriff’s Department will continue the investigation to conclusion.

Conflicts and bullying at schools are very real problems. When the conflicts expand to social media, parents are often unaware of the communication occurring silently on cell phones and computers. Parents should remain aware of the online activities of their children, and educate them of the serious consequences of bullying and threats. Children are sometimes suspended or expelled from school based on the serious nature of threats, often considered crimes, or at least violations of school policies.

What can parents due to protect their children from harm when the threat isn’t so obvious?  The website, Web MD notes that “Teens are teens, online or off,” and has the following advice:

“With such online perils, tried and true parenting skills, such as letting children know you love them and setting clear, consistent guidelines, may be more important than ever.”

“Parents should be proactive and fold the Internet into engaged parental activity,” says Anne Collier, Executive Director of Net Family News, Inc. Collier advises parents to talk to their kids regularly about their online activities: what sites they visit most often, and if they ever see things that make them uneasy.

Parents should recognize that an Internet-enabled phone (i.e. any device capable of downloading “apps” or accessing the Internet) is an Internet machine, capable of almost anything a stand-alone computer can do. As such, users can fall victim to predators and anonymous bullies, or be exposed to harmful material from anywhere in the world. Would you allow your child to walk unsupervised at any hour of the day or night, anywhere? Consider the Internet a space where parental attention and supervision is just as critical as any other place.

Not only can minors fall victim to others, they might choose to do things illegal, or harmful to others. Parents should counsel children on acceptable behavior and activities online. A simple standard that might apply is, “Don’t do anything online or with your phone that you wouldn’t do in front of me.”

Many advise that parents should possess, and use, the passwords to all devices and accounts for minor children. As one local parent said, “Getting a smart phone or tablet is a privilege, not a right.”

While the free Internet has many powerful and useful qualities, parents should be mindful of the potential for abuse by, or against, children. Please monitor these activities, and report threats or other crimes to local authorities.

What do you consider lethal?

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Staff Reports 

Southern California – During California Teen Safe Driving Week, held April 1 – 7, the California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Office of Traffic Safety, and Impact Teen Drivers continued to emphasize the most deadly impact to teen drivers – reckless and distracted driving. Moreover, teens learned that their number one killer is 100 percent preventable, if drivers and passengers make good decisions.

“People are starting to understand that everyday behaviors, such as texting, eating, applying make-up, or reaching for something, can be lethal when done behind the wheel,” said Dr. Kelly Browning, Executive Director of Impact Teen Drivers. “In a recent study, over 98 percent of people reported that texting behind the wheel is dangerous, but 75 percent still report doing it. The propensity for people to rationalize distracted driving behavior – the ‘not me’ mentality – is a big part of the problem.”
“One of the most difficult tasks for any officer is notifying parents that their teenager was killed in a traffic collision, and it is even worse when the crash was totally preventable,” CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said. “Young drivers may not realize the magnitude of the aftermath of a fatal collision, and the emotional toll it takes. It is up to all of us – family, friends, experienced drivers – to set the right example, avoid distractions behind the wheel, and focus on our own driving.”
Impact Teen Drivers uses a multifaceted approach to educate teens and communities about the dangers of reckless and distracted driving. Through the “What Do You Consider Lethal?” program, teens are engaged and empowered to make good decisions behind the wheel and spread the safe driving message to their peers. In Parent-Teen Workshops, parents are taught that they are the primary influencer of their teen’s driving attitudes and behaviors, and that “Do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t work.
During California Teen Safe Driving Week, law enforcement agencies emphasized the need for a strong combination of education and enforcement to change driving attitudes and behaviors. They also stressed that distracted driving injuries and fatalities are 100 percent preventable.
“We need to make distracted driving socially unacceptable, like driving under the influence of alcohol,” said Rhonda Craft, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. “By combining education and enforcement to prevent distracted driving, we will make the roads safer for everyone.”
California Teen Safe Driving Week marked the beginning of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

For more information, visit ImpactTeenDrivers.org.

Staff Reports

(Photo Courtesy: Santa Ana PD)
Dao Nguyen

Santa Ana – On Sun., Mar. 1, at approximately 11:15 a.m., officers responded to the Tu Nghiem Temple at 5418 W. 4th Street, in reference to a group of approximately 30 people who were at the Temple demanding the return of money from the head monk, Dao Nguyen, 44. The members of the group alleged that Nguyen had defrauded them of thousands of dollars after he collected monies for a congregational trip to Vietnam that never occurred.
Detectives have identified 34 victims of the fraud. Each victim gave Nguyen between $1,100 and $7,700 as payment for airline tickets and travel expenses related to a trip to Vietnam which would have departed on Mar. 2.  Detectives estimate the total loss to be about $97,000. The group had planned to tour Buddhist Temples throughout the country.
On Feb. 28, a suspicious fire broke out in Nguyen’s bedroom at the Temple. The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) responded to the fire, but it had been extinguished by another resident of the Temple prior to their arrival. OCFA investigators consider the fire suspicious, but have not concluded their investigation. Nguyen claimed that the tickets and passport documents for the trip were destroyed in the fire.
Subsequent investigation revealed that no tickets were ever purchased. Nguyen claimed that he had paid an unidentified suspect in Vietnam to handle the group’s logistics (lodging, transportation, meals) once they arrived in the country. An additional suspect in the United States was to handle the purchase of the airline tickets. This person allegedly delivered the tickets on Feb. 28, just hours before the fire broke out. When the airline was contacted, it was determined no tickets had been sold in the names of the victims. Nguyen alleged that the tickets were counterfeit and that the money was stolen by this unidentified person who has not yet been located.
On Fri., Mar. 27, at approximately 9:15 a.m., Police Officers responded to the Temple and discovered that Nguyen had died from an apparent suicide.
The investigation into the fraud continues. Nguyen is a “person of interest” in the theft of the money, but detectives have not discounted the possibility that additional persons might be involved. Detectives hope that a pending review of bank, email, and telephone records, as well as additional interviews with potential witnesses and victims, will identify the perpetrator(s).
Anyone who has additional information is asked to contact Cpl. Shannon Rackley at (714) 245-8431.

Chino Hills Deputies arrest a Fontana man for manufacturing false credit cards

Staff Reports

On Thurs., Mar. 13, Deputies from the Chino Hills Police Station arrested Jamell Roy Howard, 25, of Fontana, on charges stemming from an extensive investigation regarding credit card fraud.  Howard was booked on suspicion of manufacturing false credit cards containing the personal information of more than 30 victims throughout Southern California.

Howard was originally contacted on Feb. 20, after Deputies responded to a report of a subject – later identified as Howard – who had made fraudulent purchases totaling several thousand dollars at the Walgreens at 3320 Chino Hills Parkway. Howard was found to have approximately 60 Visa, American Express, Mastercard and Walmart prepaid gift cards in his possession. Deputies seized the cards for evidence, and released Howard pending the outcome of the investigation.

Deputies discovered the cards had been encoded with the account numbers of the victims. On their face, the cards appeared to be an average gift card; however, the magnetic strip on the back of the card contained the credit card numbers of various victims. Deputies contacted several banking institutions and eventually located more than 30 victims.

After completing the investigation deputies located and arrested Howard near his home in Fontana. He was arrested and booked at West Valley Detention Center.