You are visiting http://geocities.datacellar.net/SoHo/Workshop/2096

To see an archive of the articles on this site, click here.

Law enforcement now a mode of education

By Tim Wood

Law enforcement officers, like other public officials, are easy targets for criticism.

When they do their job, they tend to make certain people unhappy. In most cases, those people deserve to be unhappy for being arrested and charged with a crime.

Law officers rarely are praised for the fact that no one has ever broken into your house, or that a careless driver did not run a red light and slam into your car. Prevention of crime rarely makes the headlines.

Recently, law enforcement took another hit when a school resource officer was arrested and charged with the sexual assault of two boys at the school where he was assigned. The suspect remains innocent unless proven guilty, but the incident nonetheless has hurt the image of law officers.

A few weeks ago, I witnessed the positive side of law enforcement officers. Mark Bontrager, the school resource officer at Cox Middle School, spoke to a meeting of Cub Scouts.

Speaking to a group of eight- and nine-year-old boys is not easy. Even the best-behaved group of boys can get rambunctious at times. Nonetheless, Officer Bontrager handled the group well.

Most importantly, he got across many important messages to the boys. He used his personal experiences as well as his law enforcement training to make several points.

There was considerable discussion about the growth of gangs in Columbia. Officer Bontrager discussed the history of gangs, their methods of operation and reasons why a person should not become involved with them. Once a person joins a gang, it is almost impossible to get out, the officer said.

He listened to the boys tell stories they had heard about gangs. He patiently answered their questions, expanding on topics when necessary.

Other topics discussed included personal safety and how to avoid dangerous situations.

When I was in school, the idea of having a law enforcement officer assigned to each school was unheard of. That was a different time and a different place.

In those days, police officers likely didn't consider themselves to be formal educators, although many officers provided informal education and counseling to the public. Today, law enforcement is becoming more pro-active in public education. Examples of this are programs such as the school resource officers, COPS (Community Oriented Police) and D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). The area police departments and the Sheriff's Department are working hard to be prevent crime and accidents. The Columbia Police Department's bicycle safety program is one example of a program that will save lives.

When those Cub Scouts avoid gangs, stay away from drugs and make other good choices, you probably won't see a headline about it. But thanks to the pro-active work of police, we may see fewer headlines about crimes.

First published in The Columbia Daily Herald on March 21, 1999

You are visitor no. to this page!

Home page||Send me an e-mail ||Click here for great deals on CDs!

||Tim Wood's Rocketry page ||Tim Wood's Music Page, featuring Chicago (the band)