Let's Discuss: Tracking Devices For Children
Parents go to great lengths to ensure the safety of their child, yet, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, more than 2,000 children are reported missing each day. As a result of this staggering number, parents are turning to tracking devices to help protect their little ones.
Last year, a daycare in Sweden began testing the effectiveness of electronic tracking devices to monitor children on the playground to the approval of parents. The transmitters they used sent a report to a cell phone alarming teachers if a child moved out of a certain distance. There are two main types of tracking devices on the market today: One uses the Assisted-GPA (A-GPS) technology and the other uses Radio Frequency (RF) technology. Today parents can find these sorts of trackers in the form of jewelry and key chains, though some may be looking to take it a step further by surgically imbedding a microchip into their children.
For years microchips and other RF devices have been imbedded into pets. VeriChip, one of the leading microchips on the market, has been around for 10 years and was approved for human use by the he FDA in 2004. Despite the fact that this device was linked to tumors in animals during testing, The Washington Post reported that at least 2,000 of these devices have been used on humans around the world.
Would you get a tracking device for your child? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
Photos: TheDailyGreen
4 comments
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Hi Elizabeth. Thank you so much for bringing attention to this topic. I happen to be the Customer Care Specialist at SafetyNet by LoJack, which uses the RF (radio frequency) technology in transmitters worn by those with a cognitive condition such as autism or Dementia. We train local law enforcement not only on how to use the tracking equipment to find the missing person quicly, but also how to approach them. We've had many successful rescues using this technology. Unlike GPS or cellular, nothing obstructs RF which means if someone wandered into a building or heavily wooded area, or even water, the transmitter would still work. GPS needs a line of sight to the sky to pick up the satellite signal, which can obviously be broken by heading into a garage or an abandoned building.
I would like to comment on a couple of other things: The chip! I hear about the chip a lot from people and besides possibly being a civil liberties issue, the chip does nothing to help find a missing person since the chip needs to be scanned to find out who the person is. Hence why it is helpful in pets: when a dog is found and the vet scans the chip, he knows that Joe Smith is his owner. But if Spot was hiding somewhere alone and unable to find help, then obviously the chip cannot be scanned until he is found. Another reason SafetyNet is so important is because we have clients who are non-verbal and cannot call out for help or even tell an officer (or friendly stranger) that they are lost and need help. A lot of children on the spectrum don't even realize they are in danger when they elope.
The second thing I want to bring up is about kidnapping. I have talked to many law enforcement folks in my time here at LoJack and I've been told blunty that in the case of a kidnapping, the kidnapper usually removes everything from the child. Anything they were wearing at the time of the abduction would obviously go into the alert, so off goes the red shirt, watch, necklace, shoes, socks, etc. I hate to even think of a child getting kidnapped, but when caregivers start talking about it with me at events we go to, I do let them know that SafetyNet will not help with that scary situation. And neither will any other tracking device since it would most likely be removed.
If you do choose a tracking device for your child, do consider where you place it. For the ones on our SafetyNet service, we ask that they wear the device 24/7 since we don't know when the wandering is going to happen. Clipping it to shoes or a backpack may seem like a good idea, but they may shed accessories or clothing during the elopement. Or what if they left while wearing nothing but pajamas. They probably wouldn't think of putting on the one pair of shoes that has the device clipped to it.
Thank you again! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to email me at jmorrissey@lojack.com.
Best,
Jennifer -
If people "chip" their pets, I would do it for my children if they were small. There are too many child molesters waiting to prey on helpless children.
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