Attempted abductions uotside schools - risk?

[Kenduskeag]

Another day, another attempted abduction outside a local school. This time, a man in a white van pulled up beside a 10 year old boy and tried to physically manhandle him into the vehicle. As the child kicked and shouted, a nearby gardener was alerted and the man was chased off. Police are, as ever, investigating.

But it seems there's one or two of these every week! Just scouring the local papers - Sep '15, a boy grabbed by the driver of a red Nissan, escaped. Dec '15, a boy grabbed by a man in a balaclava. A woman claiming to be a friend of a young boy's mother tried to coax him into a car: police are investigating. In Stockport in January, police had 6 reports in 10 days of men, and in one case a couple, trying to coax children into a car. 1st April, an attempt in Heywood, 12 year old girl. The Bolton schools shared a social media warning two or three weeks ago and a primary not far from here had a warning out also - two incidents, drivers with similar descriptions. That's just local. How many nationwide?

So what's going on? We very rarely (if ever, in the last few years?) see any news stories claiming a successful outside-school abduction. Does that mean they all (due to children fighting them off) fail? We don't see media reports of these drivers being caught, charged and trialled. There doesn't seem to be much media interest, beyond the usual warnings - no 'who are these people?' or 'Are these drivers all linked?' Could some be fraudulent - children late for school or home, quickly coming up with the old man-in-the-car chestnut, which explains the lack of media follow-up?

AIBU to think this needs some closer investigation? Is it on the increase or occurring at the same rate? I'm just not sure what to think. On the one hand I like to think of myself as sensible and able to sift through clickbait headlines and fearmongering in order to ascertain real risk, and the ol' 'man in the car who says he's a friend of your mum' routine seems like something long-forgotten from the 1980s. On the other, there does still seem to be a risk of people who don't seem to give a stuff how many people see them grabbing shouting children and who the papers would have us believe are rarely or never caught.

I've never heard of any of these happening, but I think that road crossing training is a very good idea.

They are always white vans they are always dragging them always millie dowler and sarah pailin were no where near school , all this is hysterisa and urban myth of course we want our children to be safe but being dramatic and hysterical wont keep kids safe

Bertrand. I'd rather take notice of local police advising extra vigilance than some random person online either saying it's all bollocks or stoking hysteria. I live in the area of most recently reported case.

In my DH's case it was a white van because the guy was a landscape gardener and it was full of lawnmovers/gardening equipment. DH had "accidentally" kicked his ball at the side of the van and the guy pulled him into the van and said he was taking him away to teach him a lesson.

The incidents did the rounds on facebook but were definitely not urban myths

Love the certainty - you know this for sure? The hysteria you see on there at times seems to be infectious, all those stupid warnings about a child nearly being abducted in a local shopping centre, thankfully just found in the nick of time in the toilets getting their hair cut or dressed as the opposite sex.

The number of real attempted abductions will be tiny compared to the amount of hysterical nonsense/chinese whispers/misinterpretations of something witnessed, its not that a warning from the Police means nothing but if something is reported to them - they have to issue a warning, the Police wont have witnessed whether anything has actually happened or not.

The reasons I referenced Millie Dowler was because her swift disappearance from CCTV led to the assumption she got into a vehicle. The reason I referenced Sarah Payne was because she got into a white van, albeit not one near school.

Basically, those are the only two killings I can recall stemming from children who got into vehicles, or were dragged into them. There are more in the US, but I'm just looking at the UK and whether these warnings and apparent frequency of incidents suggests actual attempts.

No but they will have investigated it and seen fit to issue a warning! How can you possibly know that nothing really happened and they're just issuing warnings because they have to? These are just assumptions you have made based on what?

Why are none of these attempts ever successful?

Sadly Sarah Pailin hasn't been abducted Mrs...

Oh god sorry autocorrect and ive not even noticed.

butterfly says "One in Aldridge", and quotes a link.

We look at the link.

"The 16-year-old victim was walking along Sutton Road towards Beacon Road traffic lights in Aldridge at about 10.30pm on April 18, when she was picked up by a man driving a silver car. The motorist stopped to ask her for directions, offered her a cigarette and she got into the car. "

How many schools turn out at 10.30pm? And that's hardly bundling a small child into a car, is it: a 16 year old (ie, an adult, for the purposes of this discussion) being tricked into a car at 10.30pm and raped is horrific, but its relevance to abductions of schoolchildren outside schools is unclear.

There were at least 2 near me last year - not sure I'm 100% they're true though.
One said a lady snatched her Dc out of a tesco shopping trolley in the store in the centre of town by an 'oriental-looking' woman. The mother said she had to grab her child back and was all very traumatic. There was no warnings from the police, no e-fit released, nothing on local news and the store in question said nothing on cctv.
A few weeks later a similar Facebook warning popped up this time about a 'Romanian-looking' couple trying to get a child out of his pushchair while the mother was looking away. Again noting from police or press, just lots of the mothers friends vouching for her although none were present at he 'incident '.
I just don't understand why, if these incidents occurred, the police didn't issue warnings or even local press picking up on lack of police involvement as they usually like to bash them!

I heard that a woman was assaulted by a security guard while breast-feeding in Primark. It was in the papers and on Twitter and everything, and a big campaign group said it was true, so it must have been.

I've seen a similar story- lots of friends vouching for the lady but nothing on cctv.
A similar thing happened on a bus and the alleged incident was on cctv but clearly shows the bus drive not saying a thing!

Growing up, in year 7 at secondary school I was almost taken by a man in a Land Rover. Scariest day of my life so far.

I lived one road over from the school, on a corner that lead to an alleyway. Man parked on the corner - obviously thinking he was going to corner me in the alleyway, but actually right outside my home.

He walked up the road and asked me for help reading a map. This map was in the car. He grabbed my arm but I managed to bite him as he tried to pull his arm over my shoulders (I think that's what he was doing). I ran to my nans two streets over.

This was in 2002.

It's bloody scary and it does happen.

My bf was sexually assaulted by a man who tried similar and put his hand up her skirt and then ran. But that was 6 years later.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/oct/04/child-abduction-statistics-england-wales

The figures are from 2004, but the article was published in 2012 and has some interesting figures.

It's not all urban myth or hysteria. GMP are very hot on reporting warnings like this on social media, and there has been a spate of attempts here. There has been one recently involving a man in a car travelling between local schools attempting to get children into his car. GMP circulated a description to all schools and we got letters plus text messages warning parents to keep an eye on the children coming home from school. We had similar last year too so I'll take it as a genuine concern I think!

There has been one recently involving a man in a car travelling between local schools attempting to get children into his car.

Shame no-one thought to note down the registration plate, really. Too busy looking for a pitchfork.

Personally I like to be aware of all potential dangers. I don't have a pond or body of water in my garden but I don't ignore the possibility of my child coming across one and dismiss concern about it as hysteria. I don't imagine anyone else would try to make me feel silly for having that worry either.

Seems to be enough first person accounts on this thread to make stranger danger a consideration we should keep in our mind as well.

I think it's really arrogant to dismiss people's worries as hysteria and limited thinking. This happens a lot on MN.

Bolo they did. The man was tracked down. No pitchforks needed thanks, just info from GMP shared between schools and parents and the police being very much on the ball.

I live in the US, reasonable size town, near a major city. We have these reports a lot. Some of them turn out to be kids late for school, or being somewhere thy shouldn't and for some reason make up a story about attempted kidnap.

There are some that actually are attempted kidnap too.

The phrase, was it John Howard? Coined for Australians always comes to mind alert but not alarmed

I'm trying my best to instill in the DC, if you are approached for whatever reason "come find my dog, let me give you a lift, would you like some candy" go always reply, I have to ask my mum first, and then move away. If they're actually grabbed they are allowed to do whatever they want it the person, biting, kicking, screaming etc... On balance I say these things are rare, but, they need to have drilled in them appropriate responses.

Sadly, in our area, gangs attempt to snatch young children for child trafficking purposes. Supermarkets are places they try this.

alert but not alarmed

GMP are very hot on reporting warnings like this on social media, and there has been a spate of attempts here.

Yes and it's very clear when something is posted from an official police account.
With social media, you do always need to check sources, most FB ones I see are an individual with a photo of a bloke taken on their phone (he was in the bushes/in a van.... then 10000 comments about I hope they string him up).
Some of the ones I see are from the local police or organisations I know are on the same notifications list my work is, I will definitely pay attention to those.

Squizita you obviously have the same type of local page as we do here
Fortunately as you say it's very clear what is an official page and what is fourth hand gossip from the neighbours dog. That's why nobody I know dismissed the last time as a myth.

In Exeter last month at Ds 's school a girl was almost manhandled in to a car right next to the school. Lucky she had the instinct to run fast. Not the first time in this area.

Why are these attempts never successful?