GPS Trackers Prevent Kidnappings in China |
In Beijing, China, the Chinese Red Cross is handing out GPS tracking units to young children as a preventive measure against kidnappings.
The official news agency of the Chinese government, Xinhua, first announced that 20,000 personal GPS locators would be distributed throughout the city to elementary and middle school students with the goal of the Red Cross to give out a total of 100,000 of these units within 2 years. With the help of these GPS tracking units, parents and guardians can better monitor the location of their children throughout the day. The unit is even able to notify parents if their child is too close to certain dangerous locations, such as construction sites or major/busy streets. The GPS tracking devices are designed to be worn as a large wristwatch, sized especially for children. In addition, the GPS tracking watches also function as a limited cell phone, able to dial out to four different numbers and receive calls from twenty numbers. An emergency panic button is another feature of the personal GPS, which sets off an alarm if the child triggers it.
Chinese parents can rest assured that these new toys will not interfere with their children’s studies – the GPS tracking devices do not have the capability to allow game playing or communication through message. In addition, they have been programmed to go into sleep mode during normal school hours.
The Red Cross states that the personal GPS locators are being provided in order to help prevent violence and kidnappings against Chinese children. In China, the number of children being kidnapped is steadily increasing. The Chinese Red Cross asserts that over 200,000 school children are listed as missing in the country every year, but recent figures show that last year, the number increased dramatically to an all time high of 600,000 missing children. Some speculate that the astonishingly high number of kidnappings may in part be due to the nation’s one child policy, which was established in 1979 after a massive population boom following the death of controversial Communist leader Mao Zedong. Since sons are highly prized over daughters, the need to have an heir to the family name may have contributed to a large number of these kidnappings. Many young Chinese boys are kidnapped and later sold to wealthy families that do not have an heir.
The Chinese Red Cross has distributed these GPS tracking units without charge; however, parents will be responsible for payments of service charges. Estimated at 400 yuan per year, or about $60 U.S.D., this policy has garnered criticism as unaffordable for most Chinese families.
Author Matthew Hensen is director of content marketing at Southern California-based Tracking System Direct, an online retailer for GPS trackers.