JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Car decals come in all different styles, sizes and colors. Drivers see them nearly every time they're out on the road.
But are the decals putting children in danger without parents realizing it?
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Dwayne Norman has several decals on his truck that are all about his career and his family. The decals are generic stickers of a sailor, his wife, their daughter and the family pet.
"It represents me being in the Navy and my family as well," he said.
Norman has been sporting the stickers since he bought his truck, and his daughter helped pick them out.
"She loves them. When I was picking them out again, she said, 'Daddy, you got to get the puppy. We've got Shadow. You got to get the puppy, too.'"
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Just by looking on the back of his vehicle, it's apparent Norman has a daughter. Many parents wonder if that's enough information to put the girl at risk.
Channel 4 crime analyst Ken Jefferson says it's not.
"Those aren't dangerous. Those are just merely representing this unit as a family unit. It's pretty harmless," he said.
That's not the case for those who have other stickers that provide more information, Jefferson said.
"When you extend that to personalizing your stickers with, 'My child is an honor student at such and such location,' or, 'I attend such and such church,' or whatever, then what you're doing is you're opening yourself up for exposure," Jefferson said.
By also having stickers that say the child's name, favorite activity or school, parents are giving predators too much information, Jefferson said. He said people can connect the pieces of information to find someone's child.
"Predators are being more creative every day," Jefferson said. "When they get arrested, they generally come out, based on statistics, and re-offend, particularly sexual predators."
That's why Norman says he keeps it simple when it comes to car decals.
"She's only 5 years old and, of course, we are very proud of her, but you got to think too that some stuff might get very personal and then people can take that and do ill will with that information," Norman said.
That's also why Jefferson recommends removing anything from your car that you question.
