R s 11 iz Youth Pecgram re
_Ay WSuilding espect for 2

*

The R.C.M.P. is just as interested
in helping to make good citizens as it
is in catching criminals.

A practical aspect of this is the
“youth and the police” program ini-
tiated by Ottawa headquarters in
1945.

General aim of the program is to
create a greater appreciation of good
citizenship, but it has the more spe-
cific aim of building a genuine respect
for Canadian laws and the agencies
charged with the duties of enforcing
them.

Both aims add up to crime preven-
tion.

The program is designed to show
young people that a policeman is not
a killjoy or a bogey, but a human
being willing and anxious to be
friendly.

' Members of the force go into the
schools to speak to children on a va-
riety of subjects such as policing in
the far north, the function of the

*

Scenes like this,on grounds
of the View Royal School,
are typical of R.C.M.P.
youth and the police pro-
gram throughout British
Columbia. Constable Ken-
neth Sutherland shows
group of youngsters how
to toss basketball. (Col-
onist Photo by Bud Kins-

man.)

*

TWENTY-THIRD EDITION

By LAWRIE JOSEMN

police in society, safety rules (traffic,
fire and health), self-discipline, good
citizenship, police service dogs, forest
fire protection.

The officers assist youth clubs al-
ready in existence, found clubs and
lead them where none are in exist-
ence.

Athletics

They referee athletic contests and
provide hobbyists with specialized
knowledge.

Whenever they appear before
young people they wear their famed
and picturesque red coats and stetsons.

When the R.C.M.P. took over the
job of policing British Columbia it
found a similar program being ad-
vanced by the B.C. Police among the
young people of the province.

Assistant Commissioner C. E. Riv-
ett-Carnac, officer commanding the
B.C. division of the R.C.M.P., says his
men are expanding their efforts to

*

help B.C.’s young people and win
their confidence.
Energy

Commissioner Rivett-Carnac would
like to see the energy which makes
young boys throw bricks through win-
dows, for lack of a better way to ex-
pend it, directed into healthy and
useful channels.

“You know you are doing some-
thing when a mountie walks past a
school yard and the children rush to
the fence to greet him,” he said.

Province by province across Can-
ada the R.C.M.P. maintains its “youth
and the police” program on a com-
petitive basis, with each division try-
ing to best the accomplishments of
the others.

Victoria

Provincial headquarters in Victoria
carries the competitive spirit into the
various detachments in B.C.

(Continued on page 82)

Page Seven