Pubdate: Fri, 31 Jan 2014
Source: Guardian, The (CN PI)
Copyright: 2014 The Guardian, Charlottetown Guardian Group Incorporated
Contact:  http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/174
Author: John Bradley

THE AGE TO INITIATE PREVENTION STRATEGIES

Editor: The article entitled "Province won't help Summerside put 
police officer in high school"( The Guardian, Jan. 22) was 
disappointing not only because I see it as a short-sighted rejection, 
but also because of the shallow offhand comments made by Justice 
Minister Janice Sherry in defending the decision.

In essence Minister Sherry's statement portrays a system composed of 
youth justice workers, outreach workers and police liaison officers 
who are assigned to work with specific persons at schools when 
support is called for or needed. Sounds great, but when examined, is 
rather nebulous to say the least.

Minister Sherry goes on to say that the jury is still out on how 
successful the Colonel Gray experiment went. From reading a number of 
letters and media reports there seems little doubt that the vast 
majority feel that the police officer experiment at Colonel Gray was 
quite successful. If the overall situation is as under control as 
Sherry indicates then those of us who see a need for a police 
presence in our high schools are needlessly "crying wolf."

Well this old retired teacher has one more howl to make. Twice in the 
recent past, I have commented in this forum on the perceived benefits 
of a fulltime police presence in our Island high schools.

On any given day the majority of detainees at the Sleepy Hollow 
Correctional Centre could trace their problem to the use and abuse of 
drugs and/ or alcohol, which most often started in their teen years. 
Minister Sherry says the province can't afford a policing program in 
our high schools; and she is not convinced that a police officer in 
the school is the right approach. My reply: If we accept the premise 
that most of the drug abuse and addiction problems begin when our 
youth are of high school age then that's the age to initiate 
prevention strategies. So it behooves the province to find the 
financial means to devise and develop preventive and recovery 
programs such as a police presence in all Island high schools.

John Bradley, St. Patrick's Road
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom