PRACTICAL TACTICAL
A Multi-faceted Necessity
By Jim Bolwerk
San Diego County is in the midst of an alarming spate of juvenile auto-related accidental deaths. Many of our young and inexperienced drivers have been responsible for drunk-driving collision fatalities and collisions that resulted in death due to lack of seat belt use. Several teenage skateboarders have also been hit and killed recently while riding on streets. Not surprisingly this tragic trend got the attention of local law enforcement and we have taken steps to combat it. Although it is too early to determine the long-term results of our efforts, there is no doubt we must work together to safe guard this vulnerable and cherished segment of our community. Your agencies may already be doing some of the things I describe below, but I wanted to share what we were doing in case you find these ideas useful.
Comprehensive Teen Driving Program
As part of our Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPPS) Unit, our School Resource Officer Deputies (SROs) worked with their school principals, Parent Teacher Student Associations (PTSA), and our Traffic Unit to plan and execute an outreach, enforcement, and education program targeting teen drivers at local high schools. This includes the following components:
· Safety reminders and news stories about teens injured in traffic collisions are shared via the school’s public address systems by popular student leaders and faculty.
· A heavily damaged car from a serious injury collision is displayed as a static reminder of deadly results of poor, distracted or drunk driving.
·Letters are sent to every student’s household from the school’s PTSA, principal, and Sheriff’s Department. They demonstrate our partnership and detail the dangers and law enforcement consequences of poor driving.
·Enforcement details of such things as provisional license offenses, no seat belts being worn, cell phone use, etc. are conducted along with shared information about the potential hazards. Parents actually thanked our deputies for ticketing their children because they understood and appreciated our efforts.
Start Smart
At our local high schools, our traffic deputies are presenting the 2-hour Smart Start class which was developed by our partners at the CHP. The aim of the class is to reinforce good driving habits to new drivers and their parents who must attend with them. A completion certificate from this class can lower insurance rates with some carriers. As an example of how well this class fills a need, enrollment in multiple classes was filled for months ahead of time after a short story came out about it in our local newspaper!
Curfew Sweep Partnership
Recently in our Lemon Grove Station command area, deputies adopted a San Diego Police program where they staged a curfew sweep. In addition to the traditional practice, community organizations, including faith-based groups, were enlisted to assist in the diversion program for the benefit of the at-risk youths contacted.
ABC Details/Shoulder Tap
Assuring the local liquor stores do not sell alcohol to our teens is another aspect of our work. Our partnerships in these details are with our State Department of Alcohol Beverage Control and MADD who vets the underage role-players who attempt to buy alcohol in order to keep the honest establishments from temptation and the dishonest ones in check.
Every 15 Minutes
This program for high school students gets its title from the premise that every 15 minutes there is a drunk driving caused fatality in our country. The presentation is put on by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) in partnership with Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and, in our area, with the assistance of our School Resource Officer (SRO) Deputies and many school staff. Students act out a realistic on-campus drama about the dangers of underage drinking and driving and the aftermath of a fictional case. A video of the entire case is made. The circumstances leading up to the collision is taped, a car wreck is staged with students being taken to a hospital and reports of serious injuries and deaths result, fictional arrests are made, and a court case, in an actual courtroom with a judge and court staff, is conducted and recorded. The culmination is a student assembly in which students and their parents tearfully speak about their newly "deceased" friends, sons, and daughters. I attended one of these presentations last year and saw no dry eyes in the gymnasium as the program progressed. It was an intense way to drive the point home to the students about the grave danger they could put themselves and others in.
Once again we are called by necessity to exercise teamwork and creativity for the public good. Good luck in your areas and please send your ideas our way as well!