NEW PROGRAM AIMS TO BUILD A NETWORK

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 spokeswoman 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 visits communities and 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, spokeswoman 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, such as 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."

While Regina Public Schools has yet to see details of the program,
spokesman Terry Lazarou said administration would "work with (police)
on initiatives that are mutually beneficial and that help our students
become as successful as they can be."

A spokesman with Regina Catholic Schools did not return a phone call
on Tuesday.