The attempted abduction of Dundalk children, Kelly Mullen and Ciara Brady, has received high-profile publicity in newspapers, radio and TV over recent days.
In considerable part, this is due to the concurrent search for two 10-year-old girls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, who have gone missing from their homes in Cambridgeshire. At this writing the police investigating the Cambridgeshire case appear to believe that the two girls have been abducted.
No words can express the pain and sorrow whichmust engulf a family in such circumstances. The cruelty of not knowing what has happened or where the children have been taken is unmeasurable. The parents of Kelly Mullen and Ciara Brady were quick to empathise and to sympathise with the Cambridgeshire families in the light of their own children's frightening encounter.
There was a time in this State when such horrors were unknown. Scrutinise the crime records of the 1950s, the 1960s and the 1970s. They depict a very different Ireland from today. We know that terrible crimes were committed against children, sometimes in their homes, sometimes in institutions. But the random victimisation of children by predators on the public highway was something that occurred only in crime movies or American TV police series.
Irish parents of those decades did not have to worry about their children being snatched away by men in motor cars. But many more lost little ones to illnesses which can be successfuly treated today. Different times bring different threats and different risks. Different social and environmental conditions throw up different behaviour patterns in those who have deviant urges. How do parents best cope with the sort of dangers which confronted two young girls playing near their homes in Dundalk earlier this week?
The Garda and the psychologists have given specific advice. Children should be warned in a calm and reassuring manner. The old maxim "Never Talk to Strangers" is valid. Unlit or secluded locations should be avoided. The experts also stressed the need for vigilance even where an adult is known to a child or the family. Young children should not go anywhere without the knowledge and prior approval of parents. This last is an onerous prescription, with the potential to cause difficulties in relationships with family friends or acquaintances. But if there is to be a misjudgment it is better to misjudge on the side of safety.
There is one other way in which adults can help to secure the safety of their children. They should be consciously observant. Where individuals or vehicles are seen to be acting suspiciously, an eye for detail can make all the difference when the police arrive. Registration numbers, make, colour and any marks or "extras" on a vehicle are important. Contents which are visible within a vehicle may be significant. So too are tax and insurance details displayed on the windscreen discs. Accurate physical descriptions - height, build, hair, complexion, accent, walk, clothing - can narrow an identification process very quickly.
Nobody likes to have to think in these terms. Butsuch are the times in which we live.