By Liset Marquez
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
ONTARIO, Calif. — After more than 20 years of envisioning a police museum, Katie Roberts knows her dream is slowly becoming a reality.
For more than 40 years, Roberts, who was one of the first female officers in Ontario, has been collecting police memorabilia for an education museum.
And now with the help of the Ontario Rotary Club, she is looking to start a nonprofit Police Museum at the Ontario Police station within a year.
“A child isn’t going to do right by the community unless they respect the law,” Roberts said.
By establishing the first museum in the region, she said she hopes it begins to send a positive message to the youth.
Far too often, Roberts said society has made stars out criminals and villains out of police officers.
Over the years, Roberts has amassed quite a collection.
From handcuffs that date back to 1865 to a selection of police officer hats from different countries, Roberts said she has either personally gone out to get the items or received them from a fellow police officer.
Roberts said she has more than 100 badges through out the state and different countries.
But her collection has outgrown the space in her home office so she moved items into storage and at the police station.
She said she can’t wait until the day when she gets to move all of that into an empty space at the Ontario Police Station.
When the police station was built, there was about 1,000 square feet to the right of the entrance that was reserved for that very reason, said Alan Wapner, a former colleague of Roberts.
Wapner, who is also a member of the Rotary Club, suggested that the club take a lead on the project. The club is assisting Roberts with raising funds and operating the organization.
The museum does two things, it pays recognition to police officers and creates a positive imagine for children, he said.
“So many kids don’t have that positive influence until they get to middle school or high school,” Wapner said.
The ultimate goal is to get all the local service clubs involved in the day-to-day operations of the museum, Wapner said.
When Roberts first enrolled at Mt. SAC, she was told by her mother that all she could do is get a degree in secretarial and pray that she gets married.
But while she was in her last year at Mt. SAC, Roberts said she took a class in law enforcement. It was her professor at the time that encouraged into the profession, she said.
He was also the one who got her interested in collecting memorabilia, she said.
But collecting badges and hats is common theme for individuals in public safety, Wapner said.
Whenever Wapner travels, the two things he looks for is the local police memorial or museum, he said.
“It’s a great connection to where you are,” Wapner said.
It’s building that connection with not only the community but the region that also motivated Roberts to building a museum.
Copyright 2009 Inland Valley Daily Bulletin