Duracell to Assist National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Duracell Press ReleaseFlashlightNews.org - 09/19/2006
Company to help publicize safety practices, donates flashlights, backpacks, and batteries
Duracell Batteries
BETHEL, Ct., - As more than 75 million students(1) head back to the classroom, Duracell® and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) today announced the launch of a school year safety campaign to help reinforce to parents and guardians the importance of taking steps to help safeguard their families. This campaign is an extension of the Power of Parents child safety program launched earlier this year and is based on new information(2) discovered by NCMEC. This preliminary analysis suggests that attempted non-family(3) abductions happen more often to children traveling to and from school or school-related activities than other times of day.
Beginning today, a new school-year safety checklist will be available for free on the Power of Parents Web site (www.duracell.com/parents) to help prepare parents and guardians at a time when child safety remains of paramount importance.
Currently, no national organization aggressively tracks attempted abductions across the United States. Addressing this need, NCMEC developed the Attempted Abduction Program within its Case Analysis Unit to analyze attempted abduction trends and patterns and collect information to assist law enforcement during investigations. Initial findings show that attempted abductions:
- Occur more often when a child is going to and from school or a school-related activity
- More often involve children between the ages of 10 to 14
- Happen to more female children than male
- More often entail a suspect that uses a vehicle
Surprisingly, a recent survey conducted by Duracell and NCMEC found that forty-nine percent of parents or guardians believe that their neighborhood is safe, and therefore are not concerned that their child will go missing(4). The same research indicates that over half of parents and guardians do not have a recent photo of their child -- one updated within the last six months -- for emergency purposes. With the new NCMEC findings, it is more important than ever for parents and guardians to discuss safety with their families and update their child's photo ID.
"We are proud to partner once again with Duracell in the Power of Parents program to help arm families with important safety tools for the school year," said Ernie Allen, president and CEO, NCMEC. "We identified a crucial need to understand how and when attempted abductions take place. We believe that by analyzing attempted abduction trends and results, we may begin to uncover patterns and work with law enforcement to help prevent future abductions."
The Power of Parents program launched in April to help dispel common child safety myths and to provide valuable early intervention tools for parents and guardians. The Web site also includes a downloadable, step-by-step child ID guide and a unique six-month e-mail reminder service to help parents and guardians remember to update the photo and information in their child's ID guide.
"Since launching the Power of Parents program with NCMEC, we have reached millions of people across the country and have encouraged more than 30,000 people to download our child photo ID guide for their families," said Joseph F. Dooley, president, Duracell, The Procter & Gamble Company. "We hope this campaign encourages parents and guardians with children of any age to take time today to sit down and talk about safety."
Duracell also has extended the partnership at retail with special packages that include a free child safety backpack light and safety tips to encourage families to discuss safety during the back-to-school season. Additionally, Target stores will offer special-edition Power of Parents photo ID guides.
As part of its commitment to the program, Duracell also donated batteries and flashlights to NCMEC's Team Adam, a network of on-site, rapid-response consultants who provide technical assistance to local law enforcement officers who investigate cases of child abduction and sexual exploitation across the country.
About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 401,200 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more than 122,600 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 104,900 children. For more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its Web site at www.missingkids.com.
About Duracell
Part of The Procter & Gamble Company, Duracell is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of alkaline batteries. Its brands hold the No. 1 position in North America, China, Europe, Latin America and Africa. Duracell offers a complete portfolio of power solutions for every type of digital camera user including: Duracell Ultra Digital, a premium alkaline battery for occasional digital camera users; Duracell PowerPix, a new disposable battery for moderate users; and Duracell Rechargeables, Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries and chargers for frequent digital camera users. The company also sells flashlights and recently acquired Garrity Industries, a leading U.S.- based manufacturer and marketer of lighting products.
About Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)
Three billion times a day, P & G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Pringles®, Folgers®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Actonel®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella, Gillette®, and Braun. The P & G community consists of over 135,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P &G and its brands.