In the wake of Jaycee Dugard's escape from her abuser - and the harrowing ordeal of her imprisonment as it has been revealed to the public - many people are wondering if law enforcement is really able to protect our children from predators.

And in the age of the Internet, the answer is no.

Which is why parental controls are a necessity for parents. In many cases, this is the only way to protect your kids from online predators.

CBS News concurs by revealing in a recent article that the nationwide crackdown on child pornography and other sex crimes has created "severe manpower shortages."

The situation is made much worse when these criminals have access to the Internet, where repeat offenders are "jumping online" and "flocking to social networking sites" to prey on unsuspecting children.

With online predators and other sex offenders working constantly to abuse children and avoid the law, this is where parental controls must be used to fill-in where law enforcement just can't be.

There's been a 78% increase in sex offender registration since 2001, and with many prisons and parole systems facing budget cuts, it's just impossible to keep track of all predators.

Vigilant parents can rely on parental controls to help them minimize the dangers of online predators. Today's best programs can monitor social networking sites, record IMs, block inappropriate websites, and much more.

The frightening truth is that for each sex offender caught, there are many more out there. And whether it's real-world dangers, or Internet dangers, moms and dads today can't rely on anyone but themselves to keep their kids safe.