Waukegan police take toys on patrol to bolster community bonds; ‘It shows officers as real people'
Sgt. Alejos Villalobos said some officers staged traffic stops with the toys, or made it look like they were helping deal with evidence. In one case, the item accompanied the officer to the shooting range.
'They did some staging with the toys,' Villalobos said. 'It gave them a chance to get out of their routine as patrol officers. Some of the officers were having fun with it.'
The officers were participating in the fifth-annual Toy Ride Along Program jointly operated by the police department and the Waukegan Park District through much of May, where children's toys become partners of the city police.
Jonathan Cochrane, a recreation specialist with the Park District who operates the program, said children of all ages were asked to bring a favorite toy to the Fieldhouse Sports, Fitness and Aquatics Center by May 8.
Once the toys were collected, Cochrane said they were taken to the police department, where they were assigned to a 'partner' with whom they rode along in a squad car for as long as two weeks before going back to the Park District and the children.
Participating children then received more than the return of the stuffed animal, sports equipment or other possession. Cochrane said there was a 'goodie bag' from the police filled with pictures and other mementoes.
'They got pictures in the bag so they could see where their toys were, and how they were used,' Cochrane said. 'This is a good collaborative effort between the police and the Park District. It's a really cool idea.'
Along with the pictures, Villalobos said the youngsters received a certificate from the police documenting the occasion, a rubber police car, sticker badges for a 'junior police officer' and more.
Police Commander George Valko of the Community Policing Division, said the program helps develop a relationship with the youth in the community at a young age. They are entrusting something of importance to them to a member of the police department.
'The toy means a lot to these kids,' Valko said. 'It could be a baby doll they've had all their lives. It means a lot to our officers to take care of it. It's good for our community to be part of this. It shows a different side of the officers, too.'
Officers volunteer to take the toys on a 'ride-along.' Villalobos said different departments, like patrol, criminal investigation and community policing, all get involved. The program started when the COVID pandemic limited ways police could interact with community members.
Community relations is another important ingredient to the program. Valko said that at some point, a person may remember the officer with his or her toy from the pictures and see them around town.
'They might talk about it,' Valko said. 'It serves as a bridge to the community. It shows officers as real people.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
A curfew won't save Indianapolis teens. Investment in them will.
It was half past midnight. We were returning from a wedding, stunned at the sight of hundreds of teens lining the sidewalks downtown. I recognized one as my student, Dakari. The next morning, I saw the headline: gunfire, 2 a.m., three teens wounded. They never identify juveniles by name. For teachers, it's torturous — were they one of ours? I stopped Dakari in the hall Monday. 'I clocked you out late Saturday night. Everything good?' Dakari is a natural leader, unafraid of truth, which earned him the respect of his classmates. And luckily, he trusted me. Yeah, he was less than a block away. He was shaken, but unhurt. 'I hope that's the last time you're out that late," I said. 'Nah, we're going out again next weekend.' My heart sank at his response. It sank again when Indianapolis approved its new curfew this month — including a proposal to charge parents fines. It seems easy, right? But easy solutions are rarely good ones. Indianapolis has become a city that is afraid of its own children. I see teens demonized across social media as 'feral' and 'violent.' But these same teens are the most creative, savvy and thoughtful students I know. They are full of ideas about how to improve their community, and they jump at the chance to help. Unfortunately, we offer few ways to use these aptitudes. Students in out-of-school programs have lower absenteeism and delinquency and better scores and earnings. In Baltimore, targeted youth programs almost single-handedly cut violence by a third. But in Indiana, we don't have enough programs for them. For every child in one, three more are waitlisted, with demand outpacing supply. Meanwhile, the percentage of children alone and unsupervised has actually decreased. However, being home doesn't mean children are safe. More youth are depressed, isolated or contemplating suicide than ever before, especially teen girls. And more teens are armed with guns and dying from them, including in rural counties. Safe storage proposals routinely fail, so Indiana has one of the highest rates of accidental child shootings in the country. So why are so many teens out after dark? Like most of his peers, Dakari wasn't out there to hurt anyone — he was there because his friends and family were there. Implemented alone, a curfew is a band-aid that makes isolation worse. A lasting solution must address root causes. Teens are seeking stimulation because they're bored. Out-of-school programs may be facing federal freezes and state shortfalls, but local parks, libraries, and nonprofits are a nexus for youth sports, clubs, arts, education and volunteering. But Indy's parks are woefully underfunded — we pay less than half the national median. Our libraries once fared better, but recent cuts have decimated that lead. It's no wonder Indiana ranks bottom ten for supporting children. We must invest more. Teens are seeking connection because they're lonely. Teens were spending less time with friends even before COVID, but they're also isolated from their families — 40% of children lack strong emotional bonds with their parents. One solution is having mentor-like adults outside home. But young people report fewer mentor figures than ever. Older people describe their teenage years as full of feedback from adults in their community. That community has fragmented, and youth mental health has deteriorated alongside it. We can all do more to engage youth in our neighborhoods. Finally, teens are seeking support. But we've designed a system that makes it almost impossible to care for our children. Indiana restricts teaching teens what could get them pregnant. New parents lack guaranteed paid parental leave. Many towns sit in tri-county childcare deserts — we rank worst in the country, costing billions. Parents must work to keep Medicaid, so kids go unsupervised. Child abuse reports often go uninvestigated, even as unhoused children sleep at DCS offices. And Indiana's youth homelessness rate continues to balloon faster than the national rate. It's all too easy to blame parents. Yet we've adopted policies that abandon them. Let's flip that script and put families first. I know exactly what would have kept Dakari from going downtown — he needed something better to do. We all have a role in that responsibility. Let's make Indianapolis a city that's safe and enriching for our youth.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
Columbus mother and daughter among 15 indicted in pandemic unemployment assistance scheme
Three Columbus-area women, including a mother and daughter, are among 15 people who have been indicted by a grand jury in connection with a sprawling COVID-19 unemployment assistance scheme that prosecutors say resulted in the fraudulent release of more than $7 million in benefit payments. netted them millions of dollars. Markeya Smith, 28; her mother, Brandy Smith, 45, both of Columbus; and Shirkara Reggins Cochran, 42, of Canal Winchester, face a slew of charges in connection with the scheme, including engaging in corrupt activity, money laundering, theft, and telecommunications fraud, according to Franklin County Common Pleas Court filings. The grand jury also indicted 12 other co-conspirators in connection with the scheme. According to the Ohio Office of the Inspector General, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services hired outside contractors to help process claims and release money for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which was "inundated" with unemployment compensation claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2022, the ODJFS launched an investigation and discovered what it called suspicious activity concerning Markeya Smith, who worked for Randstad as a contractor and was assigned to the Ohio PUA program. The ODJFS accused Markeya Smith of improperly clearing application issues and fraudulently inflating the incomes of PUA applicants so they could receive larger weekly payouts, according to the state Inspector General's office. During that same month, the ODJFS also found that Brandy Smith, a former ODJFS customer service representative, improperly approved PUA claims even after she was no longer a customer service representative with the department. After reviewing ODJFS records, investigators said they found "significant overlap" on the PUA claims accessed by the two women. Additionally, investigators found that both women were acquaintances of Cochran, who worked as a subcontractor to ODJFS with Insight Global, an employee staffing agency. Cochran is also accused of improperly accessing PUA claims and disbursing money that applicants were not entitled to, and using a fake name during her employment with Insight Global. Prosecutors allege that she used her mother's name, "Cherita," during her employment. During the course of their investigation, authorities say they found that the three women would receive cash or electronic payments from PUA applicants in exchange for improperly releasing PUA funds. Investigators also found that the trio would use recruiters to find additional PUA applicants who wanted to have issues removed from their PUA applications or who wanted their claims to be fraudulently inflated, according to the inspector general's office. Investigators also noted that even after Markeya Smith was terminated from her position as a customer service representative with Randstad, she still had access to the ODJFS benefits system and released nearly $3 million in PUA benefits before her access was revoked, according to the inspector general's office. The three women have not entered a plea yet, and no attorney is listed for any of them. Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@ at ShahidMeighan on X, and at on Bluesky. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus mother, daughter among 15 indicted in $7M pandemic aid scheme
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
South Dakota declares judicial emergency following statewide tech issues
The South Dakota Supreme Court has declared a judicial emergency in the state following a "large-scale technical issue" that has been affecting state websites and telephone systems since Aug. 19. A release from the South Dakota Unified Judicial System on Aug. 20 said that "All deadlines, time schedules, due dates and filing requirements imposed by applicable statutes, rules and court orders are suspended until further ordered by the Court." Issues described by the release include problems with ePayments, eCourts and the File and Serve platforms. Court filings and payments may still be submitted in person at clerk of courts offices. The state was previously under a judicial emergency from March 13, 2020 to June 30, 2022 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Judicial emergency declared in South Dakota following tech issues Solve the daily Crossword
