By Suzie Ziegler
FRESNO, Calif. — A pilot program with the Fresno Police Department and a local school district has cops in classrooms. The purpose of the program is to build relationships between police and students in high crime areas, reported ABC 30.
Starting this month, 6th grade students at Birney Elementary School will participate in a class specifically designed to be taught by police officers. Officer Lindsay Dozier, a 24-year veteran of the department, was selected to teach more than 90 students.
“It’s important that we build relationships at that sixth-grade level,” Dozier told ABC 30. “Here, they are starting to make their minds up about people and things and places. They need to know that we are on their team, that we are not there because we have to be there, but we are there because we care about them.”
Teacher Robert Garcia hopes the program will help students make better choices.
“The bottom line is they know that someone is there for them,” Garcia said. “There’s going to be someone there that not only cares for them, but that’s going to encourage them to go ahead and be the best that they can be.”
Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama says it’s essential for students to have positive interactions with law enforcement.
“It’s important that we are visible. We are there as mentors, as friends, as people who are going to provide safety for those kids,” Balderrama told ABC 30.
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