Page 33 - July2019 FOP Magazine

Tom McNamara, a community policing officer in 014, accompanied students from Darwin Elementary School to Windy City Ninjas. The students sent him a very compelling thank-you note.
nect with kids and adults. But as Officer Friendly, he takes great pride in knowing that he’s helping change perceptions among the youth he meets.
In turn, the students show their appreciation. Just ask Second District Officer Denise Gathings, who can point to the dozens of letters of support she has received from children and teach- ers as a sign of how well the Officer Friendly program is working in her area.
Gathings’ approach is to not just pass out a coloring book to students, but to bring that coloring book to life in a tangible way. Instead of coloring, Gathings acts out scenarios with the students.
Bullying, stranger danger, gangs and how to call 911 are among the topics of conversation as Gathings and Officer Col- leen Carcione make their way from school to school, forging relationships with those who need them the most. The duo has reached more than 1,000 students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
“We want to bring police and youth closer together. The older kids, if you haven’t gotten them while they’re young, you’re not going to get them,” Gathings said.
Reavis Elementary teacher Latricesa Johnson was one of sev- eral teachers who wrote to the department to express her ap- preciation for the program as well as Gathings’ teaching style.
“Our students are faced with crime daily, and usually do not know how to process the role of police officers in those situa- tions,” she wrote. “I believe the Officer Friendly program brings a positive presence of officers in our schools. It brings light to the role of a police officer within our neighborhood.”
The children involved appear to have picked up on that sim- ple fact.
“I think the program was very helpful to me and my class- mates because they taught us things we will remember our whole lives,” one fifth-grade student wrote. “Please don’t stop this program because of all the information we can gain from these people that can help us in our lives.”
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