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Bylaw reaching out to students

A new program is aiming to make law enforcement more approachable for local youth. Okotoks Municipal Enforcement is launching its Adopt a School program on April 1, which will see bylaw officers assigned to two or three schools each.
Municipal enforcement officer Andy Wiebe is heading up the Adopt a School program, which will match officers with local schools to engage with youth.
Municipal enforcement officer Andy Wiebe is heading up the Adopt a School program, which will match officers with local schools to engage with youth.

A new program is aiming to make law enforcement more approachable for local youth.

Okotoks Municipal Enforcement is launching its Adopt a School program on April 1, which will see bylaw officers assigned to two or three schools each. They will be responsible for engaging with students and teachers in those schools, providing support and building relationships throughout the school year.

Officer Andy Wiebe is heading up the program.

“We just want our peace officers to be seen as more approachable, as opposed to just seeing the police car driving around,” said Wiebe. “Frequently we see our law enforcement units as a reactive force – something happens and we go and deal with it. So we want to be able to be at the schools and just say, ‘Hey, how can we help in the schools?’”

He said the Adopt a School program falls under the municipal enforcement mandate to promote community wellness, safety and engagement.

It will make municipal enforcement officers more visible to children outside the peak times before and after school when they typically monitor school zones, he said.

“They’ll be available to speak to issues like bullying, respectful relationships, encourage socially responsible behaviours as well,” said Wiebe. “We see even some 10-year-olds with a phone now, so we want to encourage them to be safe with their phones too.”

He said officers might arrange with teachers or principals to speak to classes or school assemblies, but they might also just drop in during the day and interact with the kids.

Wiebe said he’s been doing some of the relationship-building himself already and he’s passionate about making those connections with students, so he didn’t hesitate to take on the program.

“I spend a lot of time at the high schools, especially,” said Wiebe. “I have a real passion for the high school students and the pressures they’re under.

“When I was in high school we didn’t have that social media aspect, we didn’t have cell phones, we barely had computers. Bullying was more of a face-to-face thing. Now some of the messages and things these kids receive just blow me away.”

Wiebe said the Adopt a School program will help make municipal enforcement more aware of the issues youth are facing, and it will also make students more aware of the officers’ role in the community, he said.

He’s stopped at the high schools during lunch breaks and approached students who have left the grounds for a cigarette. They’re usually underage, but he’s not there to issue a ticket, he said.

“I’m not there specifically for enforcement,” said Wiebe. “I’m there for education and to talk about what they’re doing, the effects of what they’re doing, and the fact it’s illegal. I’m building a relationship with them rather than just saying, ‘Here’s your ticket.’”

Municipal enforcement is building age-specific programming in conjunction with Adopt a School, so each grade level will get an appropriate message delivered by the school’s assigned officer, he said.

In Grade 2, it might consist of reading a book about visiting a police station, whereas in junior high there will be some talk around issues like moped safety, and at the high school level there may be a focus on new drivers, he said.

Officers will engage in a fun way, using interactive apps at the junior high and high school age that allow students to answer Wheel of Fortune-type questions in a game setting on their phones, he said.

“I’m pretty excited about this, I think it’s going to be fun,” said Wiebe.

He’s taking on Foothills Composite High School.

Principal Vince Hunter said it’s a great program and a great opportunity for the students, faculty and officers. He said bylaw and RCMP officers are often associated with the negative, because when they’re called upon it’s typically when something has happened.

“I think our kids sometimes only get to see them in that light, whereas this is going to offer them that opportunity to be in our building and participate with our kids in a positive way,” said Hunter.

He said being able to have positive interactions with the students and being more visible will allow youth to develop a different relationship with officers.

“They can honestly just create a friendship/relationship between the two and the kids don’t just see bylaw as, ‘Oh, we’re in trouble,’” said Hunter. “Instead it’s, ‘Hey, I know these guys,’ and that will carry over into the community and help them with their work as well.”

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