Damian Larkin was 12 years old when he was run off the road by another bicycle rider. The fall was swift, sudden and violent. Bruised and shaken, he could not move.

Damian got help from the residents of a house with a bright poster of the MacGruff Crime Dog pasted in the front window. The poster identified his neighbor as a volunteer for the MacGruff House program.

Damian -- like millions of children across the United States -- recognized the MacGruff Crime Dog as a symbol of both unrestricted safety and immediate assistance.

From kindergarten through junior high school, State College teachers, parents and school administrators, in conjunction with the State College Bureau of Police Services, have emphasized and reinforced that MacGruff Houses are safe places for children to seek and receive help, State College Police Officer David H. Caster said.

While the MacGruff Crime Dog represents safety to children across the United States, the symbol represents community cooperation and coordination among parents.

Ideally, the MacGruff House program links neighborhood to neighborhood in a web-like chain throughout the valley, said Donna Larkin, Damian's mother and chairwoman for the State College Area PTA/PTO Council -- Child Protection Committee.

"Obviously a child molestor . . . is less likely to try it in a neighborhood with (MacGruff Crime Dog) signs," Larkin said. The program attempts to deter criminal activity through a "network of people watching," she explained.

But, communities that sport these signs do more than watch, Larkin said. Other activities include: the "Safe Arrival at School," which ensures that children are not lost or kidnapped between home and school, the "(Arts) Festival Crime Watch," which attempts to prevent child disappearances through walking the streets to find lost children, and "Officer Friendly," which orients children to the role of police officers in society.

In 1986, 98 percent of children in the United States recognized the MacGruff Crime Dog, Caster said. Now, nearly five years later, 98 percent of both parents and children recognize MacGruff, he added.

Since the birth of MacGruff in 1980, "Take a bite out of Crime" advertisement campaigns have swept the country. Trench-coated and waving an admonishing finger, the MacGruff Crime Dog is a nationally recognized symbol of safety through pro-active policing, Caster said.

Darlene Tomlinson, State College mother of two young children, believes MacGruff helps encourage a protected community.

"It makes you feel safer," she said.