REGINA POLICE ADOPT ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS

REGINA (SNN) -- The Regina Police Service will soon have a new
educational weapon at its disposal in its ongoing war on drugs.

Beginning as early as this school year, or perhaps at the beginning of
next, RPS school resource officers are expected to start delivering a
program called Community Safety Net to Regina students, mainly in
grades 5 to 8.

The program is billed as a safety awareness and education initiative
that works by creating a network of individuals and organizations that
want to protect children. It consists of a booklet and interactive DVD
from Gateway Publishing on drug, fire, rural and personal safety. The
RPS has approved the drug materials for use in Regina.

"It's a perennial challenge to try to educate young people on the
dangers of drug and alcohol abuse," RPS spokesperson Elizabeth
Popowich said. "You're always dealing with new students each year and
it seems as though even though the information is out there, sometimes
you need to present it in a new and different way in order for the
kids to pay attention or to have that message really sink in with
them. So it's one of those tasks that requires constant
maintenance."

Community Safety Net is used by community organizations, such as
police and fire departments, to help provide safety resources for
local children.

While in the community, project co-ordinators visit local businesses
and merchants to raise awareness and support for the safety
initiative. At the end of the campaign, supporting merchants are
listed in the book and safety materials are sent to the partnering
organization -- in this case, the RPS -- for distribution and use.

Lise Bisson, spokesperson for Community Safety Net, said the program
has been used by numerous communities across Canada and the United
States.

Popowich said one of the strongest aspects of the program is that it's
appealing to students, partly due to the inclusion of an interactive
DVD game.

"It presents the information in an interesting way and sometimes
that's the hook that you need to get the attention of the students,"
she said, noting the booklet contains plenty of short facts and items
that work well for discussion purposes.

"And then the interactive DVD game is a step that is a little bit
different. I don't think we've ever had that sort of material for our
school resource officers before, and it speaks to kids at a level that
interests them and in a way that they understand and accept. They're
very electronically inclined or very media-savvy and so it's one more
way of getting that message and that information out there."