Hasidic parents terrified by the savage murder of Leiby Kletzky are considering state-issued identification cards for their children that would make them easier to track if they go missing, The Post has learned.
The NYPD met with local members of the Shomrim patrol group and the Hatzolah ambulance corps in Williamsburg Monday night to discuss issuing Operation Safe Child cards to an estimated 25,000 Hasidic kids in Brooklyn, sources said.
The cards—issued by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services and used since 2005 by the NYPD—contain a child’s birth date, height, weight and fingerprints.
“We are trying to do whatever we can for the safety of the children in the neighborhood and the community,” said Jacob Itzkowitz, 34, a Shomrim coordinator for Williamsburg.
Safe Child cards issued to Orthodox Jewish children might also feature other distinctions, like the address of a child’s synagogue and yeshiva, said one person who was at the meeting.
“Last week’s incident was 9/11 for the Jewish community. It changed the way we have to think about strangers,” said Abe Friedman, 35, of Williamsburg.
Parents who sign their kids up for the cards will have their children’s info stored in a database that sends out alerts to statewide law-enforcement agencies in the event of a disappearance.
Officials also want to increase the number of security cameras throughout Brooklyn’s Hasidic neighborhoods to nearly a camera per every two city blocks. They would be paid for and monitored privately and not by the NYPD, Itzkowitz said.
One Response
exactly how will this help? if laiby a’h would have had one of these cards then what? unless it will have a gps chip in it, and even if it would have a chip then any abductor will know this and he will take the card from the child and throw it away rendering useless. To me this is feel good nonsense, the truth is this is a freak story which never happened, there was no neglect by anyone yet it happened anyway, life should not change because of this hashem wanted it to happen and thats the only answer there is, theres nothing anyone could have done differently to prevent it