Port St. Lucie was a small town and still growing in the mid 1980's. As a child I'd ride my bike for blocks to go to a friend's house, go down by myself to the St. Lucie River to fish and often explore the woods for imaginary treasure. I remember neighbors being very close with one another and we all didn't worry about keeping our doors unlocked while we slept at night. However, times were beginning to change.

One evening when I was about five years old, I encountered a peeping tom entering through my window. I was asleep at first, until I felt his foot land on my bed, which was directly against the window. Seconds later, without having time to scream, my daddy (then a police officer) came in with a shotgun and pointed it directly at the man. Now, I don't recall what words were exchanged, or how my father heard the 'peeper' coming in. All I knew was that the man had been arrested and it was the talk of the town. With word being spread and the news covering what happened, that's when Port St. Lucie residents really started to understand the safety in securing their home to protect their family.

Today, we are all too familiar with these similar occurrences. Day in and day out we hear of another abduction, kidnap, molestation, or other kind of abuse. It isn't just happening across the country to another suburban town, more and more it's becoming local. So, how do we protect our spouse, our children and ourselves? What characteristics does a predator have? And how do we know if a sexual predator or offender is in our neighborhood?

Surrounding us is an abundance of resources at our fingertips and we should use it in gathering important information such as this. Florida Derpartment of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has what is called the Florida Sexual Offenders and Predators database. It can be found online at http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us. This database can be useful if you are relocating or to simply find out what offenders are in close proximity of your residency and your children's schools. You can never be too careful, so protect your family by keeping an open line of communication of your whereabouts between each other. Lock doors when leaving and as soon as entering the home or vehicle. Tell your children not to park beside or get near vans if a suspicious person is inside or loitering around it. Make sure your children have phones with emergency phone numbers on speed dial. Find out more information how to protect your children from predators at http://www.registeredoffenderslist.org. The characteristics of a child predator varies, which may include the following: Child predators are typically afraid of adult intimacy, seek out children who are easily manipulated and has a low self-esteem. As always, you may contact your local law enforcement agency to get a list of safety tips.