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the examiner Wednesday Jan 1978 13 By SlE BlRKE Examiner Staff Reporter year ago block parents program In Barrie was concept the Barrie city police were contemplating as part of their newest department the crime prevention bureau The first cards listing information on youths in trouble with the law were being filed with the new youth bureau established in an attempt to divert them from the courts And the first steps were being taken to provide Barrie businesses and residences with crime prevention checks to cut down the number of breakins The two bureaus began operations from tinv office squeezed between racks of uniforms and stored equipment and bureau chief Constable Gary Logan was the only man in the department Times have changed for Gary Logan year and over 2000 contacts later Block parents now operate on almost all residential streets and the over 600 block parent applications will not all be needed says Constable Logan All the school areas have been covered and the school principlals are cooperating 10o per cent he said in an interview Block parents began operations in London Ontario nine years ago after young boy disappeared in storm and was The Crime Prevention Bureau year of growing and expanding found sexually assautled and murdered 20 miles north of the city Under the program houses on the street display sym bolized signs to show children who are hurt lost or in trouble where they can go for help YEAR llS IROVEI NEED Potential block parents are carefully screened by police and must be over 18 years of age and rec of any criminal record involving sexual offence year of operation has proved the need for the program in Barrie says onstble Logan discouraged followed Constable Logan is approaching children in all school taades to explain the program and is speaking to womens and church groups for furt her support for the program It has been used and it has been abused he said Our main problem is the smaller children going to block parents house just to use the washroom which should be Children who are lost who are being followed by older grownups or who are having problems with vicious dogs or bullies are using the program for help he says The case of kids being followed is not much of problem but it is haptxnning he said We made an arrest last week after child went to block parent for help after being Children turn to Block Parents sign for protection Helping seniors protect The latest program created by the crime prevention bureau the Barrie city police is help ing senior citizens protect themselves from crime says Gary Logan The twomonthold program involves house inspections by crime prevention officers on request and tips by police on thwarting robberies and fraud schemes he says It falls back into the whole concept of policing to bring police back to the people said Chief Earl Snider when he introduced the program to seniors in October You coOperate with us he told group of 80 seniors at Parkview Centre You give us the pieces to the puzzle Were trained to take those pieces and put the puzzle together Announcement of the program came just month after the beating death of HS yearold Maude Jean Bonncy in her Blake Street home The program had been in the planning stages for almost year says Constable Logan crime prevention officer but fear of seniors over the murder emphasized its need in Barrie The police commission and Chief Snider received number of calls from very worried senior citizens wondering what was happening to their protection he said when the program was first introudced Constable Logan says neighbourhtxxl Watch should help worried seniors by showing them how to protect themselves What we give out are the dos and donts giving them adVIce on handling attempted robberies and on when they should keep their money he said MORE IRUSTINO Because they come from different more trusting generation they often leave themselves open to crime he said With some it takes time to convince them certain steps should be taken to protect what they have Theyll keep their money at home or leave their doors unlocked or their car keys in theignition Somc seniors also believe in confronting wouldbe robbers practice Constable Logan discourages The last thing anyone should do is confront someone robbing their house or apart ment he said if you have suspicions someone is there run out and call for help One feature of the program is the offer to have Constable Logan inspect private homes on request for security measures During his ins lctions he chccks locks an vulnerable areas of the home where would lc robbers could easily enter Locks are important he said In older house you are going to have older locks that should in some instances be replaced for better safety He said he recommends what kind of locks are best in ad dition to recommendng other safety measures His major recommendation usually involves enlisting seniors in Opcrat ion Iden tificat ion program that involves marking items in house and keeping record of them in case of robbery The valuable items in any Harrie home can lit tllttlkctl with special clear pen used by Once annexation goes into effect the program will expand to include the annexed areas he added We have already spread over into liinisfil Township in some areas where children attending school in Barrie live SECURITY CHECKS SUCCESSFUL Business and home security checks have been as suc cessful as the block parents program says Constable Logan who has made checks and recommendations at over 100 buildings Im usually called in as followup spend up to four hours going over the place to find the weak points in the buildings security he said He does inspections of both architectural drawings for planned business industries stores and service stations and existing buildings at no charge screens Ill go around with the owner making recommendations on everything from barring WIndOWS to installing alarms he said and then submit written report approved by Chief Earl Snider Jean Lusty began calling police over year ago with requests for protection for children going to and from Barrieshcools The Nelson Street mother of four wanted children protected for harrassment by older children dogs and strangers and took her request to Chief EarlSnidcr His answer was block parcnts program that now covers almost all city streets and encompasses over 430 block parents with Mrs Lusty ap pointed city chairman Its big job and very demanding one she says but took it because was concerned as parent live across the road from Eastview Secondary School and lsomctimcs see things going on dont like she said in an interview Older children will bother the young oncs and they had nowhere to go for help Mrs Lusty says her Ill volvcincnt with the program stems from her concern as mother of four children aged nine to to years and from her belief that police cant be expected to do all the work We as parents cant always leave the problems for the police to handle she said The program involves voluntccr block parents putting symboloziul signs Ill their windows to signify their house look for vents false ceilings and window openings to warn owners where people could easily hreakin he said onslablc Logan usually reccmmcnds the use of alarm systems good lighting in isolated areas barred or screened windows and the covering of ventilation systems with is open to children in trouble Mrs Lusty SCREEN PARENTS The Barrie city police department screens all potential block parents in case they have any criminal record involving sexual offence Both single and married people who are home at peak hours of the day can be block parents provided they agree an invcstigation on their past will be carried out by police The program has worked in the last year says Mrs Lusty As far as know the crime rate has dropped in terms of child molestation and children an coining to block parents for help shc Silld One person has already been arrested on information provided by block parent she added and if it works just once every year thats enough The need for block parents program has proved itself through that over 1000 ap plications police have received sbc said cant tell you the number rejected it has been so slight And potential block parents arent worried about the responsibility they take on once the sign is in their window she says PEOPLE WILLING People seem to be Willing to let children and anyone in need of help know that they are there to breakin and Followups to ensure his recommendations are being used have revealed almost 100 per cent cooperaton he said While 75 per cent of Constable Logans checks involve businesses he has done several apartment buildings and private homes Thats something want to promotemthat we will inspect anyones home he said ASECONI OFFICER second officer was assigned to work with Constable Logan in May and has gradually assumed the work of the yough bureau he said dont spend more than 10 per cent of my time with the bureau now he said Constable Barbara Jenkins now handles the over 83o juveniles listed in bureau records after encounters with police in an attempt to help them and divert them from the courts She works closely with probation services and citizens committee created to pass decisions on childs future Youths are responding to the bureau says Constable Logan When we started out you could go to plaza and have trust Its working Parents protect the children and that they will help she said And one thing we tell our parents is that they arent expected to confront whoever is bothering the child All they do is take the child in and call the police or the childs family Children are being taught the significance of the block parents sign on weekly basis by their teachers says Mrs Lusty There is sign in every classroom and in the halls to constantly remind them of the program Mrs Lusty also wants the teachers and parents properly trained in all aspects of the JEAN LlSlY parents must help program and with Constable Logan is appealing to the Barrie Lions Club for financial help in buying teacher and parent manuals The Lions Club has always backed us morally and financially as much as they could she said We have recently approached them for additional backing and hope to have the manuals in two to three months MORESIGNS She also wants block parents signs placed in all public buildings in the city practice in effect in nearby Orangeville They are signs saying the city is protected by the program to let any potential molesters know she said Mrs Lustys main job in the program is acting as liaison between police and block parents she says look after applicants once they are approved seeing that they get signs and keep police informed on reports of abuse of the program or questions block parents have she said also keep in touch with the local chairmen operating at each school and with the principals who have given us all their cooperation Mrs Lusty needs two ad ditional city chairmen to help her shoulder the burden of communicating with local chairwoman and handle what she calls fulltime job nobody approach you all night he said Now they come to talk to ask questions They have developed little more Right now were back logged for month because we just dont have the manpower we need to handle the paper work says Mrs Lusty who works as well as raising her family Volunteers in the program are concentrating present efforts on approaching groups outside school associations and on contacting existing parents in recent telephone blitz to help them with problems she said GOOD RESPONSE We called all existing block parents and got tremendous response she said There were only few minor problems reported and all the members wanted to know why more wasnt being done to expand the program New members are being registered from meetings with soch groups as womens church associations and horticultural societies Many of them dont realize you dont have to have children yourself to be in the program she said The prospect of annexation and the additional potential block parents it would bring is something Mrs Lusty is unsure of Well immediately open our program to new homes in the city but where the program will go from here once an nexation is approved is hard to say Bureau fosters understanding The histories of 625 youths in tmublc with the law sit in single file cabinet drawer on the desk of the Barrie city policc departments youth bureau Namcs ages family histories and the last known contact with police are listed on separate file cards and open to police on the beat One cncountcr with police has juveniles under 16 years of age on record not to build case for conviction but to make their problems and possible solutions known to police who encounter them on city streets it helps police officers understand the kid theyre dealing with says Constable Gary Logan the only officer in the bureau when it was created year ago With the help of bureau cards it is up to police whether suspected juveniles make it to court face diversionary citizens committee or receive simple caution The bureau was created to divert youths from the courts whenever possible Constable Logan it has always been up to divert youths from the courts whenever possible says Constable Logan It has always been up to the police to decide whether to send kid to court or let him off with caution he said in an interview Now there is citizens committee established to decide on the youths future as diversion from provincial court Sitting on the committee is led Bigelow of the provinc rial probation services representatives of the Simcoe County Public Health United and the Childrens Aid Scoiety and two floaters with in tcrests and backgrounds relevent to particular cases WORK LOSELY We work closely with the committee and with people like Ted Bigelow and members of the Big Brothers Association in Barrie said Constable lxigan who was joined in the says themselves Brinks Security that showsup only when exposed by special light Police have issued four pamphlets to seniors covering home security tips information on Operation identification warning about fraud schemes and burglary prevention test Constable Logan says the test is an effective way of deter mining how safe any house is its questions cover locking and securing doors windows and garage doors and safe practices for when home owners are away Among safety steps police recommend seniors should take are automatic timers for lights effective door locks some method of marking identifying numbers on posseessions and cancelling home deliveries while away Police are also warning seniors not be be tricked by con artists posing as bank ex aminers or police officers re questing that they withdraw cash from their account The btst safeguard is to check with police someone approaches you in suspicous manner says Constable Logan even if it means using your neighbours phone to avoid tap on yours Seniors are responding to the program says Constable Logan Ive approached six groups of seniors and more and more of them are asking for Operation Identification he said With thé program only in operation since October we havent had the response we would like but were working on issuing more pamphlets and on approaching more seniors bureau by Constable Barbara Jenkins in May One of the bureaus greatest allies is Judge Doug Morton of Simcoe Countys provincial family court he says He takes his time on every decision and were satisfied with all of them said on stable Logan Hes an un derstanding parent as well as good judge Response from Barnes troubled youth has increased over the year the bureau has been operating and trust has developed says Constable Logan When we first went into plaza no one would come near us all night he said But because we operate in street clothes and in an unmarked car kids are responding can go into plaza and have them coming up and talking to me within five minutes now said Constable Logan who now does only 10 per cent of the bureau work But if we go in there in uniform they wont come near us Its the uniform they dontlikeit The bureaus main contact is with youths aged 10 to 13 in volved in crimes ranging from shoplifting to assult says Constable Logan Shoplifting is major problem with the kids he said Just recently had case involving 14yearold girl caught shoplifting in mall grocery store had known her when she was safety patroller and as soon as walked in the store she broke down RUNAWAYS Runaways are the second worst problem says Constable Logan with two being reported just in the last month While no official statistics have been released Constable Logan estimates the main offenders range in age from 12 to 16 years and says about 70 per cent are males The kids who are 13 and to seem to be getting into trouble as part of trying period of life theyre experiencing said Constable Logan Theyre having coping in general His job is communicating trouble with the youths and their families he says Im not zeroing in on parents but in lot of case where child runs away or lashes out the problem is in the home he said As an outsider you can usually get people talking about what problems they have been having and act as go between Once youth is caught it isnt up to the youth bureau alone to decide what happens says Constable Logan the case of shoplifting the child would be taken to the police office and Ill contact the parents he said They come into the station and we turn the child over to them with an explanation as to what has happened The 635 names in the bureau files indicate the need for the bureau says Constable Logan couldnt say whether crimes among youths have increased or decreased in Barrie in the last few years but we know over 600 youths came in contact with the law this year nesmakrs Dianne Helton of Stroud cor rectly identified last weeks entry in the Newsmakers contest as William Sommer ville lawyer for Falcon bridge Nickel Mines at the coroners inquest into the death of five men The men died Sept when their air into CKVR transmission tower As winner she receives Big Meal at McDonalds If you can iden tify this weeks entry send your answer along with your name and address to Newsniakers The Ex aminer Box 370 Barrie MM 411 Examiner Photo craft crashed Televisions