(Wampsville, NY – Feb. 2016) All parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles or caregivers – MARK YOUR CALENDARS. The Office of the Madison County Sheriff will be issuing Operation SAFE CHILD ID cards at the following locations and times. These are all open to the public:
Saturday, March 26: H&R Block Child Safety Day, 122 Genesee St., Oneida (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
Saturday, April 2: H&R Block Child Safety Day, 3400 Seneca Turnpike (Top’s Plaza), Canastota (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
Saturday, April 30: YMCA Healthy Kids Day, Oneida YMCA (9 a.m. to noon)
Wednesday, May 4: First Wednesday Series will be located at the Second Chance Thrift Shop, 5111 State Route 20, Morrisville (5 to 7 p.m.) Note: Safety Pup will be there to meet the kids.
More events are being scheduled throughout Madison County during the spring and summer. Those dates will be publicized as they are firmed up.
Also available at the events will be various informational items geared toward child safety and safety concerns in general, available at no charge.
The Operation SAFE CHILD Card program is a free public service offered by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, and administered by the New York State Sheriffs’ Association, Inc. with the technological support of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.
Madison County Sheriff Allen Riley explains that using equipment that contains the latest digital fingerprinting technology and high resolution photography capabilities, many County Sheriffs across New York are able to produce a SAFE CHILD card for parents and guardians.
The card contains the child’s name, biographical information (including date of birth, gender, height, weight, hair color, eye color, and other identifying data), and a fingerprint image of both index fingers. The card can be made in just a few minutes and can be easily carried in a wallet or pocketbook. The goal of the program is to record and securely store the fingerprints, basic biographical information and photographs of children who are not missing – information critical to expediting the return of a missing child. The storage of information is secure, entirely voluntary, and requires the written consent of a parent or legal guardian.
The information gathered is digitally recorded and stored at a separate database at the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). In the event DCJS receives a missing child report, the fingerprints of that child will be included in a special search file and compared against all incoming fingerprints submitted to DCJS. Once included in the database, parents or lawful guardians can request that information be purged at any time and, after a child turns 18, the fingerprints will be purged from the database.
Sheriff Riley noted that in addition to being able to quickly provide important details to police agencies investigating child disappearances, the SAFE CHILD card will serve as an important tool when used in conjunction with the NYS AMBER Alert and Missing Child Alert programs. These identification cards will allow essential missing child information to be electronically disseminated, statewide if necessary; within minutes and dramatically increase the possibility of bringing a missing child home. The Sheriff also reminds parents and loved ones who already have had their child put into the SAFE CHILD system that the information and photo should be updated each year, as the child’s appearance changes as they grow older.
For more information, please contact Ray Thielke, Madison County Sheriff’s Office Community Services Aide at 315-366-2482.