Why parents are urged to monitor their kid's devices

WARRENSBURG, ILL. (WAND) - Detective Richard Wistocki is taking online safety to the next level.

"We train the parents on what to look for to keep their kids safe and we train law enforcement on how to investigate internet crime," said Detective Rich Wistocki, retired Naperville Police Department in high technology crimes.

Phones, internet and other devices are apart of our everyday lives. However, parents and kids are on two different sides of the online world.

"He mentioned apps that I wasn't even aware of and cyber places that kids are visiting that are very very dangerous," said Jill Reedy, assistant regional superintendent at the Macon and Piatt Regional Office of Education.

Snapchat, Instagram, Tik Tok and more apps have age requirements prior to making an account. With many lying about their age to obtain an account, this leaves vulnerable kids available to much older crowds.

"The issue is, I have a bunch of 9, 10, 11-year-olds posing as 22 year old's. Who do you think is going to come talk to them?" said Wistocki.

The average online predator will continue to target kids.

"One internet predator can have up to 250 victims in their lifetime. 250 if they're not caught by law enforcement," said Wistocki.

"Just listening to the students tell their stories, it is frightening and quite alarming of the things that are going on with our children. And the predators online that we as parents are not aware of," said Reedy.

Detective Wistocki says these three tips are crucial for parents to follow to ensure cyber safety.

"The first thing is that parents are responsible for their kid's technology. Second thing, there's no such thing as privacy for children. And the third thing, one of the biggest things, is that parents sometimes allow their children to charge their devices in their rooms at night. That's when they become victims," said Wistocki.

It all comes down to what parents need to do right now.

"We have to be looking at our kid's phones. But you have to get in and you have to monitor.," said Reedy.

For additional information on Detective Wistocki's cyber safety tips, visit his website for more details.