Peeping Toms probably have been around as long as mankind itself. Yesterday's window peeper has evolved into today's more technologically advanced voyeurs who use video cameras or camera phones to violate people's privacy in public places.
Particularly disturbing this week were news reports of the arrest of a man at Salt Lake's Liberty Park who allegedly videotaped people using a public restroom. He was apprehended after a woman who was using the restroom spotted the camera and ran out of the restroom to tell her boyfriend. He confronted the 30-year-old man and held him until police arrived.
As disturbing as that incident was, the videotape also appears to contain images of a girl believed to be 5 to 7 years old. Salt Lake police need the public's help to identify the child and other possible victims.
This incident is startling. It is also a needed wake-up call to people who believe that their privacy — even in a restroom — is a sure thing. It's not. Worse yet, technology enables warped individuals to post photos of their "conquests" on the World Wide Web.
Obviously, parents should not permit small children to use restroom facilities unattended. Voyeurs and sexual predators seek opportunities where people let down their guard. A recent KSL-TV report described "family-friendly places" such as parks, public restroom in parks and shopping centers that are used by men as spots to hook up with other men for sex.
There are no simple solutions to these issues. Police and private security guards patrol these places as resources allow. Parents have to be diligent about supervising their children in places where inappropriate activity can occur, and the list of such places seems to be growing.
While lessons in "stranger danger" have their place, children and women are more often victimized by someone they know, according to crime statistics. Whatever the case, parents and guardians need to foster open lines of communication with their children so they know they can approach them about any situation that makes them uncomfortable.
Moreover, it is never too soon to teach children that technology — which in most respects makes life easier and fun — has a decided down side. Thus, the public has to be on guard as never before.