AUBURN - For parents, the first step in child safety is being prepared for a crisis situation. The second is preventing such a situation from happening.
Jason Rearick / The Citizen
Auburn police officer Vince Carnicelli helps Alexis Ames, 4, get her finger scanned using the Operation Safe Child system as Alexis' mother, Carrie Ames, talks with Cayuga County Sheriff Rob Outhouse Friday afternoon during the statewide DARE conference at the Holiday Inn.
Auburn police officer Vince Carnicelli helps Alexis Ames, 4, get her finger scanned using the Operation Safe Child system as Alexis' mother, Carrie Ames, talks with Cayuga County Sheriff Rob Outhouse Friday afternoon during the statewide DARE conference at the Holiday Inn.
Keeping children safe is the theme at the Holiday Inn in Auburn this weekend.
Through a collaborative effort of Cayuga County Sheriff's Office, the Auburn Police Department and the Seneca Falls Police Department, Auburn was chosen to be the host city of the 17th annual DARE Conference.
“It really was just luck of the draw,” said Cayuga County Sheriff Rob Outhouse while he oversaw the child fingerprinting offered by Operation Safe Child Friday afternoon at the conference. “It is an honor to host the event.”
The conference is held in a different city each year for police personnel to be updated on the latest in DARE programs.
Linda Lanning, of Spencer, a police officer's wife, knows all too well about the dangers children face. The mother of two took the opportunity to have her children's fingerprints taken. Other vital statistics were also collected so that the information can be obtained quickly in an emergency.
“As a parent you hope that you'll never have to use it,” she said. “But it is good to know that you have it just in case.”
Outhouse said that in times of stress many times people do not have accurate information to give to the police.
“The ID cards are nice because everything that we need is right there,” he said. “A distraught parent is not thinking clearly in trying times.”
For Carrie Ames, of Auburn, the child safety event offered a second level of safety
After having her daughter's fingerprints taken, she went outside to have her child's recently purchased booster seat inspected.
“She always wants to pull the shoulder strap down under her arms,” she said. I tell her that it's not safe, but the strap cuts into her neck.“
Auburn police officer Tony Oughterson explained the seat that Ames had purchased was not equipped with a positioning strap to adjust the shoulder strap to 5-year-old Alexis' comfort.
With grants from the New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, Oughterson was able to provide a brand new booster seat for Alexis.
Heidi Isaia just happened to be driving past the Holiday Inn with her infant son, Stefan, when she noticed the child safety seat program going on.
“I have been concerned about the give in his seat,” she said. “I did what I could to make it more stable but it still seems too much.”
Officers confirmed that Isaia's child seats were safe but not secured into the car tightly enough.
While the conference itself is a series of workshops for officers the safety events will be continued today.
Through a collaborative effort of Cayuga County Sheriff's Office, the Auburn Police Department and the Seneca Falls Police Department, Auburn was chosen to be the host city of the 17th annual DARE Conference.
“It really was just luck of the draw,” said Cayuga County Sheriff Rob Outhouse while he oversaw the child fingerprinting offered by Operation Safe Child Friday afternoon at the conference. “It is an honor to host the event.”
The conference is held in a different city each year for police personnel to be updated on the latest in DARE programs.
Linda Lanning, of Spencer, a police officer's wife, knows all too well about the dangers children face. The mother of two took the opportunity to have her children's fingerprints taken. Other vital statistics were also collected so that the information can be obtained quickly in an emergency.
“As a parent you hope that you'll never have to use it,” she said. “But it is good to know that you have it just in case.”
Outhouse said that in times of stress many times people do not have accurate information to give to the police.
“The ID cards are nice because everything that we need is right there,” he said. “A distraught parent is not thinking clearly in trying times.”
For Carrie Ames, of Auburn, the child safety event offered a second level of safety
After having her daughter's fingerprints taken, she went outside to have her child's recently purchased booster seat inspected.
“She always wants to pull the shoulder strap down under her arms,” she said. I tell her that it's not safe, but the strap cuts into her neck.“
Auburn police officer Tony Oughterson explained the seat that Ames had purchased was not equipped with a positioning strap to adjust the shoulder strap to 5-year-old Alexis' comfort.
With grants from the New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, Oughterson was able to provide a brand new booster seat for Alexis.
Heidi Isaia just happened to be driving past the Holiday Inn with her infant son, Stefan, when she noticed the child safety seat program going on.
“I have been concerned about the give in his seat,” she said. “I did what I could to make it more stable but it still seems too much.”
Officers confirmed that Isaia's child seats were safe but not secured into the car tightly enough.
While the conference itself is a series of workshops for officers the safety events will be continued today.