After combing through hundreds of colourful pictures, Drayton Valley Enforcement Services gave the four winners a special prize for their efforts on St. Patrick’s Day.
Cody Rossing, the manager of enforcement services and emergency management for the town, says when they first saw the kids, they seemed both excited and nervous about talking to the peace officers.
“It quickly shifted to a lot of excitement, especially when they knew they were going for some ice cream,” says Rossing.
There were four winners of the contest. Two of the students came from Aurora Elementary, one was from Evergreen Elementary, and one winner was a member of the public. Those who were in school were given permission from their school and parents to get out of some schoolwork so they could hang out with the peace officers.
Rossing says the kids all got to ride in the cruiser on their way to Dairy Queen, where they were treated to ice cream. He says while they were there, they got to know the kids a little bit and then chatted with them about traffic safety.
“I think overall it was a very good experience for the kids,” says Rossing. “It was a good experience for our department to be able to interact with youth in a different light.”
He says the experience showed the ongoing need for law enforcement to build various connections within the community, including the youth. Rossing says children and youth need to realize that law enforcement officers are people you can go to when they need help.
“Although often parents like to make comments along the lines of, ‘If you’re bad you’re going to go to jail,’ kind of thing, the reality is that often makes kids terrified of law enforcement when it should be the opposite,” says Rossing.
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Officers also made a special trip to the Early Childhood Development Centre on St. Patrick’s Day. There they spoke to the kids about safety topics like when to call 911, how to recognize community helpers, and what to do if they come across an unfamiliar object on the ground.
Going forward, Rossing says the team is going to continue to find different ways to positively interact with the younger residents of the community. He says they will continue to review the different activities they undertake to see how they worked out.
“Something as simple as a colouring contest is able to spiral into those bigger engagements,” says Rossing.
He says there will be a dodgeball game taking place sometime in April against grade four students at Evergreen.
