LOSS OF POLICE LIAISON OFFICER WILL HURT THE YOUTH IN SCHOOL SYSTEM

Some people may remember seeing police officers in the school for
demonstrations.

When I was younger, we had a bike safety day, and we learned how to
properly use helmets and hand signals. It was active, hands-on and an
excuse to get out of regular class.

As we got older, police involvement took an authoritative role, and
for some, those early memories may make a difference.

School liaison officers aren't only police on duty, they are a
personality and a face to the community. Parents and children have
come to know their faces and can grow and learn from lessons and
interactions, and they work to enhance safety and security in schools.

I have come to think of a school liaison officer as a large part of
the crime reduction strategy, because it's reaching out to youth.
With officers in all levels of schools, we're teaching could-bes,
important lessons from the basics of safety to the consequences of
actions. Reaching out to those children should be a priority in a community.

In Port Alberni, there's no doubt that expanding the crime reduction
team is a high priority. Maintaining a presence at local schools
teaches students, staff and parents awareness and it delivers safety.
As we grow, they become resources and act as counsel and serve as a
liaison between the school and the criminal justice system.

The common goals of school liaison programs are to prevent crime and
enhance community safety through education.

In elementary and high school, the officers in our schools promoted
positive youth interaction and the promotion of safe schools and safe
communities. When college hit, the officers provided security for
school events.

As for education, school liaison officers with the RCMP also provide
a program, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, that students
participate in at different levels of schooling. They even reach out
to home-school students.

If we remove these people from schools, the extra education will be
up to teachers to provide. This means a fundamental program suffers
because it's an extra item teachers have to put on their plates.

When I saw the DARE program in action, students were following along
in books, answering trivia on how to say no, and acting out
scenarios. The officer familiarized the students enough with
narcotics, but taught that the bottom lesson was to say no, and why
saying no is important.

We can still familiarize students with the website, which offers
information for parents and children on programs, officers,
volunteers, supporters, drug facts, research and links. However, it's
not the same as having a person to relate to.

Hopefully the new crime reduction member will have a strong
involvement in schools. These are fundamentals that shape children to
become good citizens and to respect the law. A population with so
many vulnerable and at-risk youth, we should be focusing heavily on
the values of young minds. It's at an early age we can teach them
ethics and personal safety.

We are learning that funding is being cut and resources are being
rearranged, but we should be giving close consideration to our
valuable resources.

A sudden change might not be the path to take at this time, because
we have fragile systems in place that have been working efficiently.