What a sick, unsafe world we live in

[julzqld]

Up here in the news over the last week, there has been 3 attempted abductions of schoolkids, 2 occuring yesterday.  One of these occured right near my house.  As fate would have it, at the time of the attempted abduction - 3.15pm I normally would be pulling into my driveway, having picked up my own kids from school.  But not yesterday as I had to catch up with another mum at school.  Hubby was at home but didn't hear anything .  Suspect car was a black ute (we have a black ute? ) which was later identified as a Holden (ours is a GMC).  Quite a few kids walk past our place, going down the side street.  As we live on a corner and there is only bushland and then Pacific Highway, I tend to notice strange cars parking in the street and more than once have jotted down rego numbers and kept an eye on certain cars.  Sometimes I guess it pays to be a stickybeak.  One time I saw a strange lady park opposite my driveway, jump into the backseat and goodness knows what she was doing (by herself).  Her behaviour was so strange I did ring the cops as I suspected she was shooting up.  Another time we found a syringe in our rubbish bin and the park nearby is known hang-out for druggies.  With the big downpour we had last June, the SES warned us not to let our kids splash about in the street with no shoes as syringes had been seen floating about the area.  What a sad, sick, scary and unsafe place our world is becoming

[Moi]

Stranger danger hits home
Greg Stolz, Cameron Atfield and Patrick Watson
10feb06

THE mother of a Gold Coast schoolgirl who was almost dragged into a car by two men this week has joined police in warning parents to be extra vigilant after three attempted child abductions in southeast Queensland in recent days.

Police and the woman told yesterday how the girl, 11, called on her Girl Guides training and screamed "fire" as her would-be abductors made three brazen attempts to drag her into their utility at Palm Beach on Wednesday afternoon.

She was riding home from Elanora State Primary School about 3pm when the driver tried to grab her near the intersection of Fifth and Manila avenues. On the second occasion, he managed to grab her school backpack.

As she lashed out at the vehicle with her foot, a male passenger unlocked the rear passenger door.

Surfers Paradise CIB chief Inspector John Hartwell said the girl fled on her bike with the utility still in pursuit.

"Using her foresight, she has then ridden down a path between houses where the car couldn't follow her and then she's gone home and reported the matter to her parents," Insp Hartwell said.

"We are looking at this as a most serious offence and a very deliberate attempt to abduct this young lady."

The girl's mother, who gave her name only as Suzanne, said her daughter was hysterical when she got home.

"She was very upset, very scared . . . frightened," she said.

Insp Hartwell said the girl had managed to get an amazingly detailed description of the two men and their utility, and police hoped it would lead to an early arrest.

Police also have a description of a man who attempted to abduct a Dakabin High School student, 16, as she walked along Marsden Rd at Kallangur, north of Brisbane, between 4.30pm and 5pm the same day.

A man approached her from behind, grabbed her left arm and pulled her towards Octavis Drive.

But the girl, who had martial arts training, kicked him in the ribs and ran to nearby Dakabin State School.

Those incidents followed on from Tuesday, when a Noosaville schoolgirl, 11, escaped from two men just before 8am as she was walking to school along Burgess Drive.

Education Minister Rod Welford said it was both "frightening and abhorrent" that predators appeared to be targeting children on their way to and from school.

"It just shows that children do have to be careful," he said. "We're reminding all Queensland schools to alert parents and students about these risks."

Mr Welford said the Government had commissioned a series of community service announcements to show on commercial television late last year.

The spate of attempted abductions has prompted police to encourage parents and guardians to work with their children to develop "protective behaviour strategies".

Acting Sgt Geoff Robins said children had to learn to be aware of their surroundings and of the closest place to get help, such as local businesses.

Even simple measures such as walking on a footpath facing oncoming traffic could help.


http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,18099476%255E3102,00.html