Deputy's role places him in teens' corner to help | cranford, children ...

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA ? On a recent afternoon, Sheriff's Deputy Clay Cranford spent time listening to a depressed teen who talked about cutting herself.

He met with another teen who'd had brought a weapon to school. He counseled several others about the dangers of online crime and bullying.

"Ultimately, I want to make a difference with people every day," Cranford said. "I want to turn things around for people who are in distress. In jails, you see the same people come back time after time. With kids, their paths are wide open. I have the most opportunity to make a difference. They're malleable and they want to do the right thing."

Cranford, 40, was selected from among other applicants to become the city's new Child Safety Deputy. His role is three-fold: He monitors locally registered sex offenders with histories of crime against children, does community crime prevention including talks on burglary, retail thefts and watches for trends that threaten children. He also does enforcement.

The position, the first of its kind in the Orange County Sheriff Department, was created by Lt. Brian Schmutz, Rancho's police chief. Unlike a school resource officer, Cranford's role is not limited to schools. He's responsible for child safety throughout the community.

Schmutz said in the last three years, deputies have responded to about 300 calls each year at local schools on issues involving children. In 2011, the department handled 123 incidents that involved "a suspicious person" and children. In some cases these calls involved juveniles who were drinking, involved in vandalism or using drugs, Schmutz said. In other cases, it involved "a suspicious person" that was following, photographing or trying to contact children.

Schmutz said the idea for the position was born out of necessity. The city's police services lost several positions over the years because of the economy's downturn. By combining the duties of the former crime prevention specialist with the former school resource officer, Schmutz created a blueprint for the Child Safety Deputy position.

"By combining a school presence, crime prevention education, and enforcement, this new position serves many functions that used to require a number of personnel," Schmutz said. "The biggest reason that we started this program is to ensure that the city's police services can pay special attention to the safety of all children in the city."

Parents and kids in Rancho like Cranford's job. Many children who hang out at the city's Central Park after school say they feel safer since he's been around. Parents say he's helped open their eyes to threats targeting children.

"I think it's really cool he patrols Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate and makes sure it's safe," said John Sigala, 12, adding that Cranford has also helped him deal with teen issues. "For me and other short people, we get teased a lot. But to me it's just like water off a duck's back. But some kids don't take it as well as others."

For Nancy and Tim Lavender, who have a 12-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son, a recent seminar Cranford held at Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate about online dangers and cyber bullying provided an eye-opening experience. In the presentation, Cranford included a video made by Amanda Todd, a Canadian teen who begged for help after being victimized by online bullying. Todd, much like Lake Forest's Jonah Mowry, had made a YouTube video using note cards to talk about what happened to her after she exposed her breasts to what she thought was a friend online. Todd committed suicide about two weeks ago after relentless bullying,

"I was sitting at the presentation crying," said Nancy Lavender. "I was thinking about what these young girls are hearing and what they're exposed to by being bullied."

Part of Cranford's seminar included things to watch for. The deputy talked about teens accessing text messaging apps like SnapChat, Kick and Thumb, ? some of which don't require authentication of identities to use them. Cranford warned about pass code locks on phones and reluctance by teens to turn over those codes to parents when asked.

When the Lavender's got home, they discussed the dangers with their children and later learned that their son had been involved in an online chat with two girls who claimed to be 17-year-olds. The content of the texts made the Lavender's wary.

"I don't think the girls were who they represented themselves to be," Tim Lavender said.

Unsure about how to confront their son, they asked Cranford. He responded immediately and offered to come over. He was friendly and talked to the couple's son in a way a 15-year-old could relate, Nancy Lavender said.

"I think it was an eye-opener for him and made him think about who really could be on the other end," she added.

"This is the best thing we could have done," she said about asking Cranford for help. "I didn't want to ambush him. But I wanted to scare him about what could be out there. I want other parents to realize, it's not just about checking cell phones, it's about getting this into their heads ? that it's dangerous."

Cranford said he shared personal stories with the teen and explained what kinds of dangers exist online. He talked about "creepers," someone that tries to lure teens and later tries to manipulate them. This can go on for as long as a year while the teen is being groomed, Cranford said.

"Kids don't have the perspective that comes through having life experiences," Cranford said. "They don't realize what actual risks they're taking. The stakes are much higher now with kids. The stuff they do lives in infamy online."

Contact the writer: 949-454-7307 or eritchie@ocregister.com or twitter.com/lagunaini

Source: http://www.ocregister.com/news/cranford-376380-children-online.html

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