By Sheriff’s Sergeant Patrick Dimick
In the fall of 2015 the Sheriff’s Community Policing Office in Aptos began an educational safety program for 2nd grade children in the elementary schools of Aptos. The goal of the Child Safety Program is to keep our children safe by providing them with safety tools for many different situations.
The Sheriff’s Office has embarked on this pilot program with Valencia, Rio Del Mar, Mar Vista and Twin Lakes Elementary Schools. Uniformed Sheriff’s Office personnel and Sheriff’s Office Volunteers visit each of these schools 2nd grade classrooms four times throughout the school year to provide safety education to the children.
The Child Safety Program provides education about stranger safety, emergencies, 911 use, what to do when lost, internet safety, bullying, home safety, peer pressure, decision making, pedestrian safety, bicycle safety and providing tools to use when they come across situations with dangerous items such as medications, knives, and guns, among others.
The content and various teaching methods of this program have been developed by retired teachers in the Sheriff’s Volunteer program in cooperation with the schools and parent/teacher councils. Kidpower, a local nonprofit skilled in teaching safety information to children and parents, has also provided valuable information and offered assistance to enhance the effectiveness of the Child Safety Program.
We have found success from the input from all these groups because we are not just going and preaching important concepts to the children, but providing this valuable information through interaction, visual aids, activities, skits and games which help the children grasp important concepts while having fun.
The Sheriff’s Office is also very fortunate to have dedicated and trained volunteers willing to dedicate their time to educate our local children and provide them safety tools. Currently we have 25 volunteers assisting 1 Sergeant and 1 Community Service Officer with the Child Safety Program. This has made it possible to impact 250 Aptos school children in 12 separate classrooms during 2015. Our hope is not only to provide an important message, but also to build trust with the children, parents and community.
In early 2016, the Sheriff’s Office will be looking to implement Kidpower classes for parents and educational literature for parental reinforcement at home. We are very excited at the possibility of continuing an annual program in Aptos and expanding education to the higher grades in Aptos.
We recognize the potential of this program expanding to children throughout Santa Cruz County. It is through community partnerships such as this that the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office strives to meet the needs and ensure the safety of our community.