Don’t judge a… police officer by his/her cover!

Written by Audrey Roy on 12/05/11

Photo by freefotouk on Flickr

I remember my last year of high school when a police officer started working at our school. He had his own office which was a small room with a desk, a chair and a computer. He went from class to class and introduced himself to all the students and explained what his job was. Of course, he was there to enforce the law with the hope of decreasing criminal activity such as drug dealing, stealing and violence in our school, but that wasn’t his only role.

Nowadays police officers are becoming more involved in schools all over Canada not only to promote a safer environment and uphold the law, but they are also taking the opportunity to educate youth about important issues and build healthy relationships. Constable Sharen Leung is a school-liaison officer in Coquitlam,    British Columbia and shared with me a bit of her experience on the job:

“It’s not all about policing, we also work with the communities; we try to educate youth on specific issues like drugs, impaired driving, auto theft and we even take on the role of a school counselor sometimes! We are not there to look for unlawful students and give them a hard time; we try to bond with these kids and create a trusting environment so they feel safe coming to us. We must work on the stigma attached to police officers and how people fear we will get them in trouble or that a police officer being at the school is always a negative thing”.

National Police Week is kicking off on Saturday May 15th and DEAL.org is encouraging all of you to get to know the police officers that work in your school and community. Don’t hesitate about asking them questions and for help when you need it, their job is to uphold the law; however they are also there to support you in whatever way they can! And for many of the police officers we have spoken with, that is their favorite part of their job!

So, are there any police officers working at your school? Do you chat with them? We would love to here your experiences!

Links

National Youth Officer Program
DEAL.org – National Police Week
DEAL.org – Our Leaders in Red