After following this Jaycee Lee Dugard kidnapping story on the internet and on TV, while it is a horrible thing that this married couple snatched up a little girl in the street…if you think about it, the kidnapping wasn’t anybody’s fault except for one person…Jaycee’s stepfather who stood there and watched the whole thing.
Don’t you think there are better ways to prevent her from being kidnapped than just chasing after the car on a bicycle? Wow…how about getting off the bike before they snatched her up, running over to her and pick her up before they did?
I totally blame the stepfather that all of this happened. If he thought of a better way to save her, then none of this would have happened. Now the stepfather is on TV doing interviews and all that. No wonder this ’caused the stepfather to split with his wife. Jaycee’s stepfather is a total douche.
Kev
K'Brocking 
Kev – he wasn’t standing right there when she was kidnapped. He was at his house, which is some distance from the bus stop. He witnessed it from there and there was no way he could have stopped them in time. Sheesh
Hmmmm, how about being close to her, watching her closely instead of standing far back away from her for her protection? Or how about quickly alerting a neighbor that she is being taken away? What about getting the license plate number of the vehicle that took Jaycee? Yes, there are other ways to stop the kidnappers. All it takes is smart thinking. The stepfather is obviously not that smart. Why do you think his wife split up with him for this? It’s obvious she took the blame on him too.
Kev
Do you have kids, Kev? I do. Most parents just drop their kids off at the bus stop or the child walks to the stop on their own – nobody ever stands around with them and waits for the bus. When you were a kid, did your mommy and daddy stand 6 inches from you the whole time you waited? At least he was keeping an eye on her from a distance. He didn’t have a vantage point in which to actually see the license plate. Can you read a plate from 100 yards away? Alerting a neighbor? What is that going to do? He DID call the police…that’s about all he could have done.
Any tragic event like that is bound to cause a problem with a marriage, but couples split every day for reasons far less important than that.
Nope, don’t have kids at all and I know 11 year olds are old enough that they don’t need parents supervision all of the time 24/7 but whatever it is, there are ways to stop kidnappers from taking your child. I think this story will be a wake up call for all parents on that. Teaching your child how to defend yourself and never talk to strangers is the big one.
I’m not a profesional family expert or nothing like that, but the stepfather that stood there and watched the whole thing, not doing any immediate action at all is just ridiculous and he thought chasing after them with a bicycle was going to save her.
If there was a suspicious looking car that just pulled up in front of a kid, I think there was plenty of time for him to save her.
If I was riding my bike in the street, and if I saw a little kid standing alone, a car pulls up in front of the child, I would have done whatever it takes to save the child if I was the witness, even if it means going right up and punching the kidnapper right in the damn head and kicking his ass.
Kev
Again, you’re making the argument with the mindset that he was in close proximity. He was not. As a test, go out to a curb somewhere. Walk 100 yards away from it, and have a friend speed up to the curb in their car, stop for 5 seconds (long enough to grab a child) and then speed off again. When you first see the car pull up, run as fast as you can towards it. How close do you get before they are long gone?
Yeah, not close.
Maybe you have a point, but I still think there are ways to prevent the kidnapping, there is always a way. Jaycee was 11 at the time. I think she was old enough to defend herself to escape from it, she was old enough to run away from the kidnappers but she never did anything. Read articles and saw reports on TV, that Garrido just got out of the car and snatched her up, that was it. She didn’t fight back or anything. Her parents obviously never taught her to defend herself from things like this. She never escaped after all these years ’cause it’s appearing that Garrido developed a romantic relationship with her. He schooled her in to support him, all this time. That’s how he got away with it for this long.
The police for one are being blamed for all this too.
Kev
My daughter is 11 years old. There is no way on earth she would be able to really defend herself from being dragged into a car by a grown man. That’s just silly to suggest that girl could have. There is not “always a way” to prevent a kidnapping. The only person that can be blamed for this is Phillip Garrido. Period.
Here is some source on how to protect your children from kidnappers, read up and learn, for your own good and for all blog readers that have children:
http://www.charityguide.org/volunteer/fewhours/child-abduction.htm
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/167027/safety_tips_for_your_child_to_prevent.html?cat=25
http://instantamber.com/news/5-steps-to-prevent-child-abduction/
I’m sure there are plenty of more articles on the net on how to protect your children from kidnappers. Google, read, and help your kids.
If Jaycee was easily taken, just like that, it’s obvious Jaycee was never educated by her parents on how to prevent child abduction. Do some research and learn how to protect your children. This goes for everyone.
Kev
They won’t always work, Kev. And actually, you should do some research, because the girl DID struggle, and in fact, had just taken a D.A.R.E course on avoiding becoming a victim just a couple weeks prior.
Um, I believe D.A.R.E. is a program that helps keep kids off drug abuse, the program has nothing to do with being educated on prevention of child abduction.
The stepfather should have been much closer to Jaycee, not 100 yards away, really think about it.
Kev
Go research it, Kev. I know what D.A.R.E is, but the police officers who teach it also focus on safety. I did think about it. Again – are all parent supposed to stand 10 feet from their kids at the bus stop? Can kids no longer play outside unsupervised? He did what every parent does – let’s their kid walk to the bus stop. Here’s an idea….go to the nearest bus stop on your bike. Now, sit there and look at all the kids on the corner for awhile – take a good look. How many of them are there with their parents?
http://www.dare.com/home/default.asp
I don’t see anywhere in that site where it teaches you prevention of kidnapping, and I don’t see anything about it about D.A.R.E. everywhere else either. It’s all about keeping kids off drugs, and keeping kids out of street gangs, period.
I think you’re just trying to win this argument.
Kev
Really nothing about it here either:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_Abuse_Resistance_Education
Basically it’s a program to keep kids off drugs, stops them from getting violent, etc. Really nothing on how to protect yourself from child predators and kidnappers.
this wikipedia did say Jaycee take a D.A.R.E. course a week before she was taken…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Jaycee_Lee_Dugard
….but wikipedia is not always reliable and sometimes mess up their source.
Kev
“It is also an important tertiary crime and violence prevention education program. The D.A.R.E. program cites cases where assertiveness and self-defense education helped prevent students from being harmed. D.A.R.E. officers also help schools when children are threatened, and their presence helps alleviate concerns about situations like school shootings and other threats of violence to children while at school.[4]”
Link to a document FROM the D.A.R.E website:
http://www.dare.com/home/Resources/documents/darearticles.doc
That’s just talking about violence at school with children. School shootings, fighting with bullies, etc. Things like that. I don’t think it’s talking about violence with children outside of school. The Jaycee Lee Dugard abduction didn’t happen at school, it happened right at her home. So whatever D.A.R.E. taught Jaycee to defend herself from dangerous men like Garrido wasn’t enough on defending yourself from predators.
Kev
No it isn’t. Read the document.
From page 2:
D.A.R.E. classes pay off with self-defense lessons
A 12-year-old girl who took the class escapes an alleged attacker
By Marcus Franklin
West Carrollton D.A.R.E. police officer Gene Jarman on Thursday characterized the 12-year-old girl who fought off an alleged attacker Tuesday as a friendly, energetic student who asked lots of questions in his course last year.
Police say Jason Michael Shaner, 19, tried to pull the girl into his car Tuesday. She said she struggled free, kicked him in the groin and rode off on her bike to tell her parents.
Jarman said he was impressed with the girl’s “assertiveness and her ability to recognize a dangerous situation and not be afraid to act.”
The girl, her father and some law enforcement officials believe the D.A.R.E. course is, at least, partly responsible for her escape.
“I’d like to think that all of our D.A.R.E. students would do that,” Jarman said. “She was an excellent D.A.R.E. student.”
In recent years, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program has expanded to include instruction on how students can protect themselves in dangerous situations.
Every year in West Carrollton, officials conduct separate 17-week courses for fifth-graders and eight-graders.
“The eighth-grade course is a follow-up,” Jarman said. “We discuss a lot of the same stuff but we get a little bit deeper than we do with the 5th grade.”
Workbooks help students learn the meaning of words such as assertiveness, violence and drug abuse.
“During the first week of class, we talk about their rights to be safe, to say no.” the 15-year police veteran said. “They should never let anyone touch them if they feel uncomfortable. We don’t want them to be passive and let people take advantage of them.”
The students can drop questions anonymously in a box.
Queries range from what’s it like to be in a police chase and “Have you ever shot anyone?” to advice on what to do about alcoholic or tobacco- addicted parents. “You never know what you’re gonna get,” he said.
Darren Nunn, 14, said he took a DARE course as a fourth-grader at Fairview Elementary School.
The course was enlightening for the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School freshman. “I thought I knew what to do in (dangerous) situations but I didn’t.”
Nunn said the course taught him how to resist peer pressure and how to stay away form drugs and strangers.
The course also teaches youngsters about gangs and how to avoid becoming involved with them.
To find out whether your child’s school has a DARE Program contact the school.
And page 3:
Girl, 10, D.A.R.E.d to Scream
By Jerry Hicks – West Carrollton
It was the kind of real-life publicity money couldn’t buy: A 10-year-old Newport Beach girl named Amber escaped a would-be abductor near her home last weekend. Then, with TV cameras rolling, she credited D.A.R.E. officer at her school for teaching her what to do.
You can bet hundreds of D.A.R.E. officers through the Southland were whooping when they saw that.
“You hope what you say in a class might someday save a child’s life,” said one D.A.R.E. officer, Tom Monarch. “But to actually hear her say it, that’s just a great feeling.”
If you have youngsters in school, you know that D.A.R.E. stands for rug Abuse Resistance Education and that it’s taught by police officers on school campuses. In the classes for younger kids, the officers emphasize personal safety more than drug abuse.
D.A.R.E., begun by former Los Angeles Police Chief Darryl Gates in 1983, has its share of critics. That’s partly because it’s hard to measure its effectiveness. How do you quantify the Number of times a student turns down a drug offer—or a ride in a stranger’s vehicle?
But D.A.R.E.’s popularity ahs mushroomed, Growing from 10 D.A.R.E. officers its first year, its 17-week courses are now taught to 35 million students nationwide.
“How well does it work? That’s a crapshoot; we can never say for sure,” said Lynne Bloomberg, who coordinates the D.A.R.E. program for the Newport Mesa Unified School District. “But I’m wholeheartedly convinced it’s worth doing.”
Just ask Amber. She’d just gotten off her bicycle to pick flowers in her Eastbluff neighborhood when someone pulled up in a truck, opened the door and tried to grab her.
Amber said she knew from her D.A.R.E. officer not to get close enough that he could reach her and that she should scream and run like crazy to get away.
Something else her D.A.R.E. officer taught her’ Put personal safety firs. But when possible, try to get a physical description. How’s this for Amber’s efforts:
The man was white, in his 30s, with short brown hair and a tattoo on his left shoulder. He was driving a green late-model Toyota pickup, and his license plate contained the letters PGE.
“She did great,” Monarch said.
You can excuse his being so proud. Amber is one of Monarch’s D.A.R.E. students.
What Monarch and other D.A.R.E. officers emphasize are the safety tips you might want to discuss with your children.
Here are some of the other tips:
* You’re separated from your parents at a store, so you head to the parking lot, thinking
you’ll find them. Wrong. Stay in one spot; your parents will likely come back there looking for you.
* You’re lost at the airport. Look for a uniformed person.
* Beware of some phony messages or questions that abductors use: “Your parents have
been in an accident. The hospital sent me to get you.” Or “Have you seen a little brown puppy?” Or “You know which way to Katella Ave?” An unsuspecting child moves close enough just to say no—and gets grabbed.
Here’s another tip: Come up with a code word with your children. If an emergency does arise, make sure someone you send to get your children knows what the code word is.
A final word from Monarch: “I’ll tell the students, if a stranger approaches you, use your talents. You’re loud and you’re fast. So run and scream. They love to act that out.”
For young Amber, it wasn’t just acting.
And a direct quote from the second article, from a D.A.R.E coordinator stating basically what I did earlier when I said self-defense programs etc. will not always prevent an attack or abduction.
“How well does it work? That’s a crapshoot; we can never say for sure,” said Lynne Bloomberg, who coordinates the D.A.R.E. program for the Newport Mesa Unified School District. “But I’m wholeheartedly convinced it’s worth doing.”
Ok maybe D.A.R.E. does do some teaching to children of protecting themselves from strangers. I’ll admit I didn’t look into it further.
Keep in mind that the stepfather wasn’t the only witness. Jaycee had some of her classmates that watched the whole thing, so one thing that bothers me is why no one else tried to help save her, and that’s the mystery here. Police also failed to save her and it even states in the wikipedia.
Think about it, Phillip and Nancy made a U-Turn on that street to grab Jaycee. Don’t you think there is plenty of time to save her while they were making that U-Turn? If Nancy wasn’t a part of this, then Jaycee would have escaped from Phillip easily, that’s why Nancy had a hand in this. Phillip is an old geezer, he was 40 at the time in 1991 when he took her, an old fart like that wouldn’t handle it himself, that’s why he had a partner.
There are always ways to protect yourself from dangerous people. I’ll always stand by it. She may have struggled, but I think there was plenty of time for her to run away when they pulled over and opened the car door. For some reason, she stood there and allowed them to take her.
We don’t know everything about this Jaycee Lee Dugard story as it is just breaking the national news, so everything that we’re both saying is just speculation.
You’d be surprised to hear from the profesional experts when they start talking to the media on what Jaycee could have done to save herself from them. Just wait and see.
But I’ll be following this story and reading about it.
Kev
Kev – she was an 11 year old child. Children don’t always process things the way YOU might think is the rational way to process them. Fact is, it was not her fault, it was not her step-father’s fault. It was abduction. It was the abductors’ fault and no one else.
But you just posted a story where a 12 year old girl successfully escaped from a kidnapper that WAS very similar to Jaycee’s story, and you STILL say it’s impossible, LOL!!! I’m sure an 11 year old is capable enough to defend his/herself as well.
Yes, it was Phillip’s fault…I’m not defendeing that asshole in no way…but in the area they were in, it was reported there were sex offenders living all over that area. So that could have happened to any child to anyone at any time.
Now this story is all over national news, this will get parents thinking that kids that young SHOULD be supervised when they’re outside.
Kev
No, I didn’t say it was impossible – I said self-defense will not always work.