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What's PlayingFree Summer Concerts
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Live on the Lake
Burbank Park/Wed., 6 p.m.
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| July 8, Sirsy |
Concerts at the Lake
Windsor Lake/Sun., 7p.m. |
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Weather delay to July 5,
Pittsfield Eagles
Community Band
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Lawn Concerts
Clark Art/Tues., 6 p.m. |
| July 7, The Doerfels |
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Sales FliersDaily Digest
A local bruin looks forlornly at the birdfeeders far from her reach in Joyce Harsch's back yard. Have a photo to share? Submit as a member or e-mail to info@iberkshires.com. |
Public Hearings
Department of Public Utilities on National Grid's request for a 16 percent increase in distribution charges on Wednesday, July 15, at 7 p.m. at North Adams City Hall. What's this all about? |
Jobless Journey
Former Adams resident and radio host Sean Baker has been chronicling his adventures in unemployment on The Forecaster site in Maine. |
ObituariesSportsSoccer sign-ups
Hoosac Tunnel Youth Soccer League/NBYMCA fall soccer sign-ups for PreK-Grade 8 at Northern Berkshire YMCA until Aug. 1.; 413-663-6529 for more information. |
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iBerkshires Profiles: Steven Del NegroBy Jennifer Thomas - December 04, 2007
 | | Steven Del Negro |
Cybercop Steven Del Negro hopes his latest venture proves successful, making the Berkshires a pioneer in a new method of education.
"In a state where things usually move east to west, it's exciting to think that the Berkshires will lead the way," said Del Negro, the statewide coordinator for the U.S. Department of Justice's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Working to develop a program that pairs outstanding high school students with elementary schoolchildren, Del Negro thinks the key to educating youth is making sure the message about Internet safety hits home at a young age.
"I don't think people understand the potential of the dangers of the Internet," said Del Negro. "Eighty percent of the time that Internet crimes are going on, it's happening right inside the home."
Del Negro works primarily in prevention and awareness, passing on his knowledge to the younger generation and allowing the older kids to act as mentors to elementary school students.
"It's a home run all around, for everyone involved," said Del Negro.
Cybercrime Pioneer
Del Negro was born and raised in North Adams and still resides in the Berkshires, even though his job takes him across the state. The Drury High School graduate went on to get a degree in criminal justice from Westfield State College before becoming a North Adams police officer and then a state trooper in 1982.
Now living in Williamstown, Del Negro is the state's sole coordinator for the ICAC Task Force, a law enforcement agency that works to prevent Internet-based crime through advocacy and education. He also conducts undercover investigations to trap offenders attempting to harm children online.
"It's not like 'Dateline,' because that's reality TV, but it's sort of like that," said Del Negro, referring to a popular "Dateline NBC" segment "To Catch a Predator," which uses online personas to nab potential sex offenders.
Del Negro is also the state's contact for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's Cyber Tipline.
"It's set up so that civilians can make reports of exploitations of children on the Internet. Anytime one involves Massachusetts, it comes to me," he said.
A member of the task force since 1999, Del Negro became interested in this new form of policing while a sergeant working out of the district attorney's office.
"There just wasn't anyone who had experience in this particular field at the time, so I just offered to take it on. No one really knew about this Internet stuff and I just kept working on it. Then, when push came to shove, I was shoved," he said. "Now this is becoming an even bigger issue because of the accessibility of the Internet and it's my job to make sure that, when the technology comes out, I know how to use it."
Del Negro works in collaboration with 45 other ICAC task forces across the country to develop the best methods for both apprehending criminals and creating educational presentations for parents, schools and communities. Working together, he said, makes it easier to ensure that the task forces are "on the same page" and tackling the issues most effectively. As an instructor for specialized trainings on cybercrime, Del Negro is also a national leader in providing online communication and computer technology training to law enforcement.
"Training is always first and foremost to help us get our job done. We need the most up-to-date information to do our kind of work so it's important that we're getting this education," he said.
Although Massachusetts doesn't have an above-average Internet crimes problem, Del Negro said he's constantly on the lookout for ways to improve awareness of online dangers.
"It's a problem of just not knowing for a lot of people," he said . "We have to get the seed in kids' heads early that they have to be safe on the Web and parents need to be aware of the dangers. Your child could be right there in the home and the whole time, you think they're safe. The truth is they could be more in danger than if you dropped them off in the middle of New York City."
With his budding mentoring program now in place in five area high schools, Del Negro wants to involve college students in the process, having them teach both young children and high schoolers. If the program proves successful, he wants to try implementing it in other communities, using the template he developed here in Berkshire County.
"My prevention and awareness presentations are in high demand and it's important to do them as much as I can, but I just can't be everywhere all the time. We're not only giving the older kids the skills to be safe but we're also letting them pass it on to the younger generation," he said.
From cyberbullying to social networking site safety, the presentations aim to make the computer-savvy student more aware of their vulnerability while surfing the Net.
"We're just trying to get everyone to be more safety minded," Del Negro said.
Looking to the New Year
As the New Year approaches, Del Negro is looking forward to tackling some new responsibilities. In January, he'll be promoted to state commander for the ICAC Task Force, taking on a new role within the agency.
"I don't completely know what to expect," he said.
Del Negro does know, however, that he's not looking to leave the field anytime soon.
"I've never hated my job. It's a very rewarding job. Sometimes it can be a frustrating and not so popular job but it's rewarding. I get to save and protect kids every day. That's a good job," he said.
Del Negro has a 16-year-old son so knows firsthand the importance of Internet safety and that the key to prevention is open lines of communication.
"It's as simple as that. Parents need to communicate with their children. Ask them who they're contacting online, how they know them. The only way they're going to learn is to sit down and go through it with them," said Del Negro. "The Internet is a great tool but it has its pitfalls. And it's not going away. We can't bury our heads in the sand."
When a crime does occur, Del Negro said he's proud to be on the front lines, pushing for jail time for offenders and being vigilant about new ways to protect children across the state.
"I'm trying to find people out there who hurt our children," he said. "We put ourselves between our children and the bad guys."
Jen Thomas can be reached at jthomas@iberkshires.com. |
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