WEATHER: General! cloudy with a fow showers Sunday, OPEN SU DAY: 27 North Shove shopping with oS the scent of Spring. Monday and Tuesday. — Highs near 12 C. BRIDGING THE GAP Police get IMPROVING «relations between police and youth is the goal.of North Vancouver RCMP. ‘ By BARRETT FISHER “The police liaison pro- gram, which will be the theme of Police Week, May | 12. to 18, to celebrate Inter- national Youth Year, has three fulltime RCMP of- ficers interacting with North Vancouver school classes: Talking to students from From Page 1 years, Since the summer of ‘79, north-south streets from 11th to 16th and east-west streets from Lonsdale to Ridgeway, have had two-hour restricted parking to encourage visitors and the approximately 2000 employees of Lions Gate Hospital to use the hospital's kindergarten to grade 12, the police aid in broadening youths attitudes towards - policing and provide stu- dents with information about the laws. | Says Cst. Alison Irons from Community Policing: “The police liaison assumes: a counselling, advisory role, becoming a resource person 490 stalls of pay parking rather than take advantage of surrounding street parking. The parking restrictions are in effect from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a. week. They apply to residents and non- residents alike. Young, a nine-year 12th Street resident and music therapy student, says the solution is resident parking SPORTS: 22 Summer sports highlighted ae MAOIA’S DAY: 44 Miss Manners moralizes on Mom’s Day madness. 3 - Sunday, May 12, 1985 - North Shore News, Business..........27 Doug Collins........8 Entertainment ..... 25 Food.............46 Bob Hunter.........4 Lifestyles.........43 Mailbox ............7 Open Sunday......21 Sporis......46264+22 Travel........2...47 What's Going Gn... .28 together with youth to the students, staff and parents. It evolves uaturally with the police officer iden- tifying with the students."’ Csts. Peter Kennedy, Eric Vanderlut and Denis Gagnon are the RCMP rep- resentatives who talk to the different grades at levels the students will understand and be interested in. Kindergarten and preschool students are in- permits. . But inquiries to North Vancouver city hall, says Young, have reaped little more than evasive answers and bureaucratic stone walls. North Vancouver City’s Superintendent of Engineer- ing Design, Gary Palmer, says administration of -esi- dent parking permits would create an unmanagable troduced to the policeman as a community helper. Programs introduced to elementary aged children in- clude stranger awareness, Block Parent program, van- dalism and pranks, the court, TV and police and shoplifting. Stranger awareness is a way for the police to caution children against strangers, as well as people they know, Irons explained. The | NEWS phofo Mike eld cst. DENIS ‘Gagnon, one of three North Vancouver RCMP officers talking to school students, addresses a class at Carson - Graham. The idea of the police talking to students is to encourage a better understanding and rapport between the officers and the youngsters, - Resident steaming over p bureaucratic structure that would be far too expensive and cumbersome for the city’s budget and manpower” resources. “Most residents with off- street parking seem to be quite happy with the situa- tion because they know that as soon as we took the signs down their streets would be plugged with cars." children are told if anyone touches them in a way that is: uncomfortable, tell someone they trust, such as parents, friends’ parents or teachers. The Block Parent program has parents, whose backgrounds have been checked for trustworthyness, put signs in their windows letting passers by knew they are there to offer help if it’s needed. This gives children in need a friend they can’ turn to. Police talk to the students _ about vandalism and pranks, explaining that while they might commit what they think is a small prank, it could hurt someone else. For example, knicky, knacky, nine doors might upset an elderly or. foreign person home alone who didn’t understand, ce Police explain basic cost procedures to the students giving the steps taken in prosecuting and defending an accused, and what hap- pens after the court decides guilty or not guilty. A misconception police try to clear up with students is the role of the policeman as portrayed on TV. Irons said the unrealistic gurslinging television policeman gives youngsters a false impres- sion, which police try to dispell. Shoplifting is aimed at the grade five students, an age the children often become interested at. Police em- phasize that shoplifting is agaist the law, no matter how small the article and explain the consequences. RCMP talk to high school students about drugs and alcohol, hitchhiking, the Yourig Offender’s Act, driv- Ki Palmer adds that, especial- ly with multi-family dwell- ings, the streets do not pro- vide enough parking space for the number of resident vehicles, . Young, who says her block is all single-family homes with alley-ways too small for garages or parking, has gone door to door with a petition protesting the situation. She ing and safety, drinking and ‘driving and police in the community. Police educate grade eight - and 10 students about the laws and consequences of. drinking’ and using drugs. Rather than using scare tac- tics, which Irons said doesn’t work and isn’t necessary, the students: are told they can pick up a book and read it for themselves. Personal ex- © periences and accidents peo- ple have had are part of the lesson. Hitchhiking is discourag- ed. Said Irons: ‘I look at it : like Russian Roulette. Maybe you can do it 99 times no problem, but the 100 time is a problem. It’s not worth it.’’ ; Students are told about the changes in the Young ... Offender’s: Act, which now includes:17 year olds, what a youths rights are upon being © arrested and what the court procedures are. ' Safety and common traf- fic violations are covered in driving for grade Its. And the hazards of drinking and driving are explained to grade 12s, with graduation the focus. A guest speaker tells their story — such as the accident victim or the accident causer. Finally, for police in. the community, high school students are asked to role. play and put themselves into the police officer’s position — how would they react? - North Vancouver RCMP will be setting up their display at Lynn Valley Cen- tre from May 13-to 18 -‘in- clusive, and officers will be available to answer any questions students or parents may have. now has 22 signatures. Block resident, Bob Leclaire, says the area’s park- ing situation is ridiculous: “Vve refused to pay in the Past, but it just ends up costing $15 instead of $10; after that, they issue a war- tant for your arrest. The city should not be able to dictate to homeowners where they can and cannot park.”