What is wrong with parents allowing their children to walk home by themselves in today’s climate!
I agree with you.
Stranger abductions of children are no more common today than they were 50 years ago--about 100 a year nationally.
The paranoia that parents feel that their child might be the 0.0001% to fall victim has led to an overprotection of children, making them fat (because they can't be allowed to walk anywhere) and dependent (because they can't be allowed to do anything independently).
Ironically, far more children die in car accidents than from being abducted. So much for protecting them by insisting on driving them everywhere.