Predators Survivor Hero

Our Predators Survivor Hero Award goes out to a very special individual, Officer April Roppolo. In 1953, at two years of age, April was abandoned on a rooftop in Manhattan, NY. Someone called the police and the abandoned child was brought to the police station. April was now a child of the state and spent the duration of her childhood in approximately twenty-two foster homes. She stated, "Foster homes back then were not investigated like they are today." At five years old, she remembers being raped by her foster father and taken from that home by the state. She now found herself visiting different homes on the weekends. "If the parents liked me, I would be allowed to stay longer." On one weekend visit, the parents beat April. She remembers the parents covering up the truth and lying to the social workers telling them that April fallen down.

One social worker had a special place in her heart for April. She risked her job when she gave the begging child her biological mother's home address. When April was eleven years old, she was placed in a home in Long Island, NY. The foster father would "reveal himself" to April when the foster mother would leave the house. Once while the mother was away another adult male in the family came into her room and tried raping little April. She managed to escape her attacker through an open window and made her way to the train station in search of her biological mother. She wanted so desperately to escape the foster care system, as she believed there could be nothing worse. A stranger, who April now calls an angel, asked if he could help her. She gave the man her mother's address and he brought her to Penn Station and placed her in a cab. When she arrived at her biological mother's house in the Bronx, she excitedly ran to the door and rang the bell. The woman opened the door with two young children beside her. April cried to her, "I'm your daughter, April and you are my mother." The woman brought her inside and said 'you cannot stay here.' April sobbed as she told her mother all she had been through in the foster care system. The woman left the room, made a phone call, and not long after April arrived at her mother's house she was taken away by the police. April cried for hours at the police station. Now she was back to visiting several more foster families.

Then at 15 years old, April had finally settled into a decent home. Or so she thought. She and her new family were enjoying vacation together when one afternoon, the mother stepped out of the house to go to the store. It was at that time, the father came into April's bedroom and tried to touch her. She picked up scissors ready to use them to defend herself. The foster father fled the room. April was devastated that yet another family had disappointed her.

April spent most of her childhood searching for love and for a place to call home. A few months out of high school, she reasoned that she could perhaps create a home with her young boyfriend. They married and soon realized very early into the marriage it was a mistake. At first her new husband was verbally abusive, but soon after he started to physically beat her. The marriage ended when her husband left and didn't come back. April now knows that was a blessing.

Then in 1980, April met her future husband. He encouraged April to follow her dream to become a police officer. In1988, April's dream of becoming a police officer was realized. April joined the Dallas Police Dept.

Today April is a D.A. R. E officer for a north Texas community. She encourages, motivates, and challenges children to be the best they can be and teaches them to stay safe. She keeps a folder that is overflowing with letters from people whose lives she has touched. Many letters stating how April has changed their lives for the better. Officer April is not only an amazing woman but she is an example to all of the strength and courage in the human spirit to reach out and make a difference for the good of all. Officer April is true a Predators Survivor Hero and an angel watching over our children. We all love you, April!

Are you a Predators Survivor Hero? Do you know someone that was a victim of crime and has moved beyond his or her situation to make a difference for others? If so, we want to hear from you about this true survivor! Please send your suggestions to us via our Contact Us page.

Keeping Our Kids Out of Gangs
By Capt. Don Larimore

If you live in the city, keeping your child out of a gang isn't going to be easy. Listed below are three ideas I'd like to suggest to help keep your child safe from gangs.

Make Time to Talk and Listen
Make time for your child on a regular basis to just sit and talk. Don't use this time to be harsh or judgmental. Go someplace comfortable to chat. Ensure your child that this is an open, honest conversation between you and him/her. Don't make it seem like your child has to answer questions, or is being "interrogated" by you. Find out about activities your child is interested in and any concerns he/she may have. Use this time to for both of you to learn more about one another.

Help Your Child Fill Their Time
Once you learn more about the types of activities, sports, and/or hobbies your child is curious about, help your child to become more involved in his/her interests. By helping your child locate a team sport, or getting involved in a hobby together, showing your child how to use his/her time constructively will assist in keeping your child out of trouble. Be involved! It's a small sacrifice to make in order to prevent your child from becoming involved in a gang.

Pay Attention
Pay attention to your child. Look at the small details. If you see that your child may be using what appears to be gang signs or dressing in gang colors, http://gangsta411.com/parentandcommunityawareness2.htm step up and ask. Don't sneak around. If your child feels that you are spying on him, he will turn away. Don't approach him as if you are interrogating him, but just make mention of your concerns and be prepared to listen. Don't assume anything, something may look like gang colors or emblems and may not be. With trends always changing, sometimes it's hard to tell.

Each child is different. I don't guarantee that these suggestions will work, but each idea has one thing in common: spending time with your child. That's the number one thing a parent can do to help keep a young person out of a gang. Show your child that they don't have to turn to a gang to find family, love, and support.

Capt. Don Larimore is a Gang Investigator with the Lindsey State Jail, Gang Intelligence Unit. For more information visit http://www.texasdetective2.com/Gang_Unit.html

Tips for Staying Safe at College
By Erin Weed

• Find your campus crime statistics at www.securityoncampus.org

• Educate yourself about blue emergency phones, escort services (an officer or volunteer who accompanies students walking alone on campus) and other security options available to you.

• Do a search for sex offenders in your community.

• Set up a friendly "Roommate Code" with whomever you live with.

• Give a copy of your class schedule and activity meeting times to your family and close friends.

• Program emergency numbers into your cell phone including campus police, 911, your parent/guardian contact info, and your ICE (in case of emergency) contact.

• Create a list of emergency numbers and post them on the wall next to your phone in your dorm or apartment.

Erin Weed is the author of Girls Fight Back, The College Girl's Guide to Protecting Herself. She has spoken to thousands of woman nationwide on personal safety. She also is the founder of the website, www.girlsfightback.com

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Recommended Reading:
Net Crimes & Misdemeanors
By J. A. Hitchcock

Here are a few tips from this excellent book:

1. Select a gender-neutral username, email address, etc. Avoid anything cute, sexual, diminutive, or overtly feminine.

2. Keep your primary email address private. Use your primary email address ONLY for people you know and trust.

3. Get a free email account and use that for all your other online activity. Make sure you select a gender-neutral username that is nothing like anything you've had before. There are many, many free email providers, such as Hotmail, Juno, Yahoo! and Hushmail. We suggest that you do a search using your favorite search engine and choose the email provider that best suits your own needs.

For the complete list, please go to the predators.tv home page and click on the cyber-stalking link in the left column.

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Do you have a question or comment about a particular type of crime? to the Predators Crime Prevention Specialist - Retired Officer Carl Duke!

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