FROM THE CRISIS TEAM TO THE CLASSROOM

DARE's Proactive Policing Approach Appeals To Former Member Of
Tactical Rescue Unit

From the outside looking in, moving from the high-powered Halton
Regional Police Tactical Rescue Unit (TRU) to teaching in elementary
classrooms might seem a little unusual. For Constable Bruce
Hasenbacher, however, the transition makes perfect sense for both his
career and the greater good of the community.

Proficient in explosives plus lethal and non-lethal use of force,
Hasenbacher is now one of seven DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)
Halton officers teaching young people about the pitfalls of substance
abuse and more.

"I've always been intrigued by DARE," he said. "TRU is totally
reactive - there's a problem and we solve it. With Educational
Services, it's a total change to proactive."

Although the effectiveness of DARE is hard to quantify (how do you
track why someone did not do drugs?) Hasenbacher is positive he's
providing wise alternatives and even if he helps just one child, it's
worth it.

One clue that DARE does have a beneficial effect is the warm welcome
he receives from former students when he drops by their schools just
to say hello.

"That is amazing. Everyone is glad to see you," said Hasenbacher, 41,
adding that not every officer can say that. "That's a cool feeling for
everyone in policing."

DARE, he continues, offers a completely different way to relate to
people, something he says was absent from his otherwise fulfilling TRU
duties.

"It puts you in touch with the good side of humanity," he
said.

The 10-week DARE program - presented to all Grade 6 students from both
school boards in Halton (and some private schools) - provides young
people with the self esteem and will power to refuse offers of drugs
and alcohol, options how to deal with the stress of peer pressure and
means to solve problems without resorting to violence.

Last year, around 6,000 Halton students graduated in May and June from
the program which is taught by only police officers. This is
important, since in addition to the anti-drug message the program
affords children the chance to see police up close and
de-mystified.

"It shows that cops are people, too," said Hasenbacher.

This was evident last week in teacher Andy Rychel's Grade 6 class at
Morden Public School where Hasenbacher led a lesson about alcohol. At
6-foot-6, the officer is an imposing figure, but he has an easy manner
that both challenges and encourages students, but never condescends to
them. Stories from his patrol and TRU days - some appropriately
graphic for the 11 and 12-year olds listening - also lend his message
credibility.

"I just want to be honest with them," he said.

The route by which Hasenbacher arrived at the Halton Regional Police
Service from Burnaby, B.C. is a circuitous one, a life spent learning
and traveling, ultimately honing his body and mind for the rigours of
law enforcement - marrying and fathering three children to boot.

A professional ski patroller in Whistler with a skill-set that
encompassed avalanche rescue to rope climbing and explosives,
Hasenbacher also traveled to places like Australia and New Zealand in
the years following high school. In the late '80s, however, he decided
"not to be a ski bum" and landed a job with a Whistler security
company. There he often worked closely with RCMP officers and that
relationship quickly fostered an interest in policing.

For that, however, he needed some post-secondary education so he
applied to a college, but a teachers strike delayed his entry. As fate
would have it, Hasenbacher met his future wife Lori - an Ontario
teacher visiting Whistler - and later checked out some universities
when he flew out east to see her.

A while later he received his acceptance letter from the University of
Guelph so, with the B.C. teachers strike still in force, he moved to
Ontario for his part-time management economics studies. Six weeks
later, he also got a job as a Hamilton escort officer, a position that
helped pay for school and earn valuable law enforcement experience. He
also got married and so, with new roots taking hold in Ontario,
Hasenbacher decided to stay. In Nov. 1992 he applied to Halton
Regional Police and was accepted.

Now with two children, Hasenbacher was enrolled at Ontario Police
College in January 1993 and upon graduation was assigned to patrol
duties in Oakville. His First Class Constable transfer took him to
Burlington. Always interested in TRU, Hasenbacher applied to, and was
accepted by, the unit in 1998. At that time, TRU was still a part-time
assignment so Hasenbacher continued patrol in Milton until called upon.

When TRU went full-time in 2001 at the request of the Province,
Hasenbacher applied again and was one of 12 officers, who made the
cut.

"That was my ultimate dream," he said.

TRU is summoned for emergency situations ranging from hostage-takings
to searches for bank robbers. Members include snipers, rappel masters,
bomb technicians and others who maintain an intense level of physical
conditioning and preparation. Each member is also well-versed in a
host of weapons, but the unit attempts to resolve any high-risk
incident using the minimum amount of force.

Halton Regional Police have a practice of keeping its officers moving,
though, and encourage them to plan ahead for their next assignment.
For Hasenbacher - a chemical munitions instructor - teaching was
always in the back of his mind so he considered everything from being
a coach officer and use-of-force instructor to a high school liaison
officer. DARE, however, won-out in August 2005.

"I'm probably the first guy to go directly from TRU to Educational
Services," said Hasenbacher, who said DARE is a marriage of sorts
between coaching his own children in soccer and hockey and his police
experience.

Hasenbacher admits some young people may be hard-wired toward
aggression and addiction, but says more are simply sitting on the fence.

"My job is to tip them over to the right side of the fence," he said,
gratified if his lessons take hold immediately or later in life.

While drugs comprise a major part of the DARE program, Hasenbacher
also deals with violence, something young people often possess a
skewed understanding of thanks to mass media. For example, people
don't die so dramatically when shot like they do in the movies, he
tells students.

"They just drop," he said, alluding to the teenager who committed
suicide right in front of him.

Fortunately, Hasenbacher does not feel he is a lone voice and
explained he receives tremendous support from parents and teachers and
from other sources like churches.

"Maybe I can change some minds," he adds.