In an effort to combat online crime and ensure children’s safety, today (Feb.5) has been proclaimed International Safer Internet Day. RCMP in the province are letting British Columbians know about the many safety resources and tools available through the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

“We all have an important role to play in the online protection of children,” says Lianna McDonald, executive director of the centre.

“We know that for parents and teachers it can be hard to even know where to begin — and this is why, in partnership with RCMP in BC, we want to make sure that Canadians are aware of the important educational resources we have to offer to better protect children.”

The RCMP have recently distributed iSMART – an Internet and social media resource toolkit to support police officers in their work with parents and educators throughout the province and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection are also launching new e-parenting safety sheets addressing issues and concerns for online safety.

This will include information on protecting youth from online luring, the growing issue of sexting, and how to talk to your child about healthy relationships and appropriate boundaries.

The group will also be distributing over one million Internet safety materials to school across Canada to help reduce online victimization.

Another comprehensive resource with age-specific safety information can be found here.