Interactive Family Safety Message Draws Crowds
Wausau, WI – December 13, 2007 – Drawing crowds takes on a whole new meaning when you’re the busiest booth at a crime prevention event attended by area Wisconsin families and featuring county-wide law enforcement agencies – it becomes part of building a strong, safe community. SafeAssured ID, a comprehensive, high-tech family safety program, was the main attraction for families and police officers alike at McGruff Fest, held recently in Green Bay Wisconsin.
“Parents flocked to the booth to ensure their children were fingerprinted. The SafeAssured ID kit is so beneficial to parents because it has all the information they would need to work with law enforcement if their children are missing,” notes Michelle Boykins, Director of Media Relations & Marketing for the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC).
The SafeAssured ID kits were sponsored by the Crime Prevention Foundation of Brown County (CPFBC), and included an encrypted disc with all ten digital fingerprints, a digital photograph, streaming video showing unique mannerisms and gait, voice track providing the youth’s voice inflection and accent, general physical description, vital personal information (street address, date of birth, life-threatening medical conditions, identifying scars or marks, and tattoos), and family code word.
“Time is important when it comes to missing children,” explains Officer Dennis Gladwell, of the DePere Police Department. “The SafeAssured system saves precious time because we have all the information we need at our fingertips to alert authorities, print posters, set up Amber Alerts and make contact with National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.”
McGruff Fest, presented by BCCPF, was the first event of its kind in the U.S. and will be used as a model by NCPC in future years as they promote October as Crime Prevention Month. “NCPC strongly believes that citizen involvement in crime prevention can and has played a vital role in helping many communities stay safe,” states Boykin. “Events like McGruff Fest ensure that citizens get valuable prevention and safety information from organizations such as SafeAssured, and help people meet the law enforcement officers who are out there working every day to protect them.”
Co-founded by Officer Gladwell and Nick Arlt, of Festival Foods, McGruff Fest united the law enforcement agencies of Brown County, Wisconsin, including the Police Departments of De Pere, Green Bay, Wrightstown, Oneida, Pulaski, UW – Green Bay; St. Norbert College Campus Security; Ashwaubenon Public Safety; and the Brown County Sheriff’s Department.
McGruff Fest sponsors included the National Crime Prevention Council, Festival Foods, SafeAssured ID, Wisconsin Public Service, WFRV Channel 5, PMI, the Green Bay Packers, the Brown County Crime Prevention Association, National Mutual Benefit, and the City of De Pere.
“The mission of the event is to teach the public about crime prevention by fostering cooperation and communication among all segments of society,” concludes Gladwell. “We had over 700 participants and accomplished what we set out to do – develop relationships that get critical information out to the public and help us connect with community members. The importance of cooperation between law enforcement and SafeAssured is huge. They have a product that can help locate a missing child – what could be more important?” Adds Boykin, “We applaud companies like SafeAssured who are working to help protect the nation’s children and making efforts to create strong communities where crime cannot survive.”
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About SafeAssured™
SafeAssured ID is the most comprehensive, technologically advanced family safety program of its kind. In the event that a youth goes missing, SafeAssured ID provides families with the power to deliver media and law enforcement with immediate, holistic, and ready to broadcast information unique to the missing youth. In addition to a digital photo and personal profile, SafeAssured differs from other identification solutions by offering: full set of digital fingerprints, voice sample, and streaming video showing movement and gait. The information is stored on a mini-CD ROM that is secured with an encrypted, locked electronic code.
Not only is the program affordable, it’s easy to use. As part of a marketing strategy, hosting a SafeAssured ID event provides a high level of return in public relations, and a key-differentiating factor from the competition. www.safeassured-id.com
