Benton Police Department launches #KidsFirst Initiative

Officer Bobby Shell hands out Benton Police Department stickers at the Benton Skate Center to children from A Kids Place day care.
Officer Bobby Shell hands out Benton Police Department stickers at the Benton Skate Center to children from A Kids Place day care.

BENTON — The Benton Police Department launched the #KidsFirst Initiative this month, aimed at growing relationships and forming bonds with youth in the city, as well as continuing to promote child-safety education for the public. The #KidsFirst Initiative is a community-oriented policing program geared toward positive policing actions and activities with children in the community.

“We want to continue building on positive relationships already established with the kids in our community,” Police Chief Kirk Lane said. “We also want to reach out to those children we haven’t met and let them know we are here to keep them safe, that we are the good guys with their best interest at heart. We’ll also have several fun events for the kids, with everyone learning how to keep our youth safe at the same time.”

The events will include a Hooked on Fishing Derby at Sunset Lake on Thursday, when officers will donate time to help teach children how to fish and will award prizes in various categories. The fishing derby is held in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Saline County.

School resource officers will host the sixth annual Junior Police Academy program from Monday through June 24. The two-week program introduces teenagers to what law enforcement officers encounter and to officers’ reactions to an array of issues. The participants will also be involved hands-on with fun activities, such as mock traffic stops, fingerprint collection, obstacle courses and more.

There will be a Safety Saturday on June 25, during which officers will conduct a car-seat checkup. The day will also feature a booth for fingerprinting identification kits for children, as well as exhibits from Benton Animal Control and the Benton Fire Department. The time and location of the event will be announced at a later date.

“Officers will also be out spending time with children in the parks, at their lemonade stands and day care centers, and other places,” Lane said. “Plus, we’ll have another ‘Ice Cream Blitz’ for the kids later this month.”

The Police Department’s bicycle patrol unit has returned for a second year, with the officers hitting the pavement on mountain bikes to patrol various areas of the city. They will focus on interacting with children and also patrolling high-crime areas to be a visible deterrent and catch criminal activity in the act. Officers in patrol vehicles will emphasize traffic enforcement in residential neighborhoods. The department encourage drivers to slow down and watch for children, who will be more present with school out for the summer.

Individuals are welcome to request that an officer stop by events or gatherings they are having. For more information or to request an officer, call (501) 778-1171 or use the official Benton Police Department app available for Apple and Android devices.

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