If you come across children alone at night, please ask them, ‘What are you doing?’ If this is difficult, it’s also OK to contact the police and other authorities.

If you come across children alone at night, please ask them, ‘What are you doing?’

How to elicit zero response. What about 'where do live? Where's your mother?'

It amazes me how these kids can just wonder around at night so easily, many parents seem to be rather, well poor parents. Hell even well into my teens my folks kept me on a pretty short lead only letting off a bit on Friday OR Saturday, very rarely both on the same weekend.

I remember way way back when I first arrived here & when out on dates asking the lady what time she needed to be home by, they almost always laughed saying their fathers didn't care...........even if they don't come home for a nite.....

And if other people see you speaking to a child alone at night, you can get accused of being a paedophile...

You have to be careful to protect yourself too.

There must be millions of teens and children in this country. A pair of especially derelict ones get abducted and murdered, and suddenly is panic, panic, panic.

Learn the lesson of Elizabeth Smart. Its not necessary to anything but be asleep in your own bed to get abducted.

When I was about seven and my sister ten, we traveled far and wide on Halloween night to got a massive hoard of candy. Then that lie about razor blades in apples got started and that was the end of that. But still as a teen I spend a lot of time out of doors at night. We had great times. We learned a lot.

Don't give in to fear and paranoia. More kids die each year in motor vehicles than any other cause. Yet, you don't look at your car with angst like its a serial killer!

Calling the cops to report youngsters who aren't breaking any laws? Really? Well there's no way that sets a terrible precedent...

Many parents have a hard time discouraging their children from staying out at all hours of the night.

Then these supposed "parents" have no business reproducing. Why must I be troubled with someone else's failure to teach their sprogs common sense?

And JT, seriously, is there no effort on phrasing here?

The reality is that in many ways, today's teenagers think they're grown up enough to set their own rules and to such things as stay out all night. So I'm not necessarily in favor of an intervention for something like this.

Can't say I agree with this. What if the kid calls the cops to say "Some older guy approached me and started asking me personal questions..."

Ask a teenager who appears to be out too late, and you're likely to get stabbed. But, in cases where the youngster isn't even a teenager yet, just call 110 and report it. Hopefully the cops, who are generally useless as wings on a pig, will check with them and on their parents. See something ... say something!

Yeah, right! Honestly, how many foreigners dare do that?

If you come across children alone at night, please ask them, ‘What are you doing?

After which the police will come accross YOU and ask you what you are doing.