HLN’s Kyra Phillips has a special hour of her show “Raising America” today. Despite years of public awareness campaigns, “Predator Test” takes a look at just how easy it is for strangers to lure unsuspecting children into dangerous situations. Phillips’ producer poses as a predator and at one point lures a child into a dog crate in a van. The child’s mother, standing in the distance, was understandably shocked.
Ben Bamsey, the producer of the project tells TVNewser this is just the start of an ongoing series of specials aimed at keeping kids safe. Next week producers will head into the field to begin production on a special called “Taken.” “It’s about the crucial first 24 hours after a child goes missing,” says Bamsey. “We’ll be putting up missing posters of a child in a park, while that child is in the park, just to see if anyone notices.”
As Phillips told me in a MediaBeat interview recently, she hoped her new HLN show would shed light on under-covered issues affecting families. Here’s a preview of today’s special. The full hour airs at NoonET today.