A three-day program designed to provide a positive interaction between children and police officers was in full swing Thursday for its final day. Kids ’n’ Kops matches children on the waiting list of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lethbridge with officers from the Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) to help explore what the service has to offer, a chance to meet its members and to take part in other activities outside of policing. “We provide some activities, exercise and we do some safety presentations in terms of cyber-safety and digital citizenship,” said Const. Donald Realini, with the youth engagement unit at LPS. The six children, aged eight and nine, are part of a waitlist for Big Brothers Big Sisters. While they wait to be paired with a mentor, officers with LPS step in to provide some summer fun. “It helps us provide kiddos in our programs a positive experience with the police,” said Sam Machan, a case worker with Big Brothers Big Sisters Lethbridge. “It shows them that they’re positive people in the community that they can go to, safe people and that how many people that there are out there that they can go and talk to.” Throughout the three-day program, the group got presentations by different units within LPS, visited the Coalhurst Volunteer Fire Department and spent time doing different activities like a scavenger hunt, rock painting and a ride-along in the armoured vehicle used by the tactical team. “It doesn’t matter what kind of experience you had before, these people are safe people and that’s why we have them out of uniform for the last couple of days so that they show them real people,” said Machan. “They have kids, they have families, they can play tag, they can fall in the mud and get up and it’s fun.” Equally rewarding: LPS Officers like Realini say it’s an equally rewarding time for them. “We get as much from the program more than what the kids do because it’s very uplifting, it’s very positive,” said Realini. While the three days may be a short time, Realini hopes the program has a lasting impact on the kids for years to come. “Kids are so important because the youth are everything and the best hope for us in the future,” he said. Big Brothers Big Sisters Lethbridge currently has a waitlist of one-to-two years and is actively recruiting volunteer mentors to join its organization.
