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PAGE 18 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1983 For some, the story has an allâ€"too familiar ring to it. â€"TWOâ€"WAY STREETâ€" Mom and Dad head to the shopping mall, wig: Junior in tow. Naturally Junior starts kicking up a fuss about being dragged around ag?inst his will, and soon parents have had it up to well, here. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Mom spies a uniformed policeman walking innocently through the plaza. **You see that big man in that dark suit over there?" she barks at Junior. ‘"Well, if you don‘t behave, he‘s going to take you away to a really bad place." The psychology might work. But for all the wrong ‘reasons, according to Const. Glen Taylor of the Waterloo Regional Police Community Relations (CP) branch. In fact, Taylor warns that Mom and Dad better not attempt to carry out the threat, lest Junior decides he wants to permaâ€" nently forsake their company for that of the big man with the friendly, not angry face. ‘"*One of the most annoying things for the police force is whenever you go anywhere, walk into a business or a mall, everybody says ‘who‘d you come to get,‘ they never think ‘the positive‘ about a policeman, and we want to make a positive thing here, we‘re here for their protection and to do good things," said Taylor, one of 19 individuals currently involved with the Community Relations branch. Stories by Rick Campbell A recent survey done on the Metropoliâ€" tan Toronto Police Force recommended spending money on the force itself, to do some advertising, tell the public that the men (and women) are there to help the citizens and ensure their safety. Those ideals are already very much within the grasp of Waterloo Regional Police, thanks to an outstanding working relationship between the police departâ€" ment and citizens of the Region. And bred through a dynamic awareness program operated by WRP Community Relations, one small in numbers, but quintessential in importance, branch of the department. Its success is difficult to measure, because in many programs offered through CR, such as Neighborhood Watch, no news is often good news. Undeniable however, is the fact crime prevention has joined the big boys, the apprehension of criminals and protection of life and property, in the overâ€"all scheme of police work. It may soon become king of the casâ€" tle. Community Relations is one of over a dozen branches within the Waterloo Reâ€" gional Police Department. Headed by Insp. Ken Miller, it contains one staff sargeant, two sargeants, eight officers, including Taylor, and seven civilians. Unlike other police forces where CR is an entirely separate body from the main unit, the WRP CR unit answers directly to the police chief. ‘"What has happened is (police departâ€" ments) have always keyed in on what we call ‘reactive policing," ...and haven‘t given too much attention to crime prevenâ€" tion," said Taylor. ‘"And crime prevention has subsequentâ€" ly been treated as relatively new. In the last five years however there have been a lot of programs designed for crime prevention... Now it‘s a part of the orientation for a new officer coming in, he‘s got to be taught about the new crime prevention programs." Crime prevention is one of six areas the CR branch concerns itself with. It also deals with safety, citizen‘s complaints, human relations, victim services and public information. . Here is a brief breakdown of the services provided through each area: e Human Relations involves two civilâ€" ians who counsel alcoholics, referred to them through the courts or by officers on patrol who have witnessed repeated abuse. These civilians are also available to anyone wishing information re alcohol e Safety involves five fullâ€"time officers in the school boards of the region, giving over 1,800 classes per year from kindergarten to grade eight on topics related to safety, drugs, the laws, the government, a comâ€" plete program worked out with the school boards. They also set up safety patrollers and crossing guards, as well as programs re conduct on school buses, and hold parties and arrange for patrollers to attend a jamboree in Ottawa each year. e Citizen‘s Complaints is headed by a staff sargeant and sargeant who look after complaints against police officers by people who feel they were not treated fairly or have some complaint against policemen. After investigation, recomâ€" mendations are made as to whether the officer was guilty and what should be done. Guilty misconduct can result in loss of day‘s pay or days off, and any potential criminal charges would be directed to the courts "As long as the citizens in our community remain concerned and show interest in what the police force is doing, we will continue to remain effective.‘"‘ problems in the family and don‘t know who to turn to, including teenagers who don‘t know how to handle parent‘s alcoholism. A new pilot project entitled Victim Services, the only one of its kind in Ontario, employs three women through funding from the federal Solicitorâ€"Generâ€" al. They contact victims of all types of crimes, basically the more serious ones, and offer innumerable services. For exâ€" ample, battered wives are counselled on how to lay charges, where they can stay, company is provided in court, and so on. One of the greatest causes of anxiety among victims is a lack of knowledge of proper channels and this service fills the void to follow steps to conclusion. e Public Information entails the proviâ€" sion of lectures, and information to the public. Approximately 400 requests a year MacGregor achool last week. initially he reviewed a drug lecture he v as presented in the â€"Canadian Charter of Rights. The highlight of the seminar was a slide presentation entitled *‘To Jail or and color of freedom compared to the harshneas of ion. . _ mlals Const. Glen Taylor Community Relations lse Br are made for guest speakers by different organizations. Officers are provided with both the information and training needed to conduct these seminars. Public Inforâ€" mation is also responsible for producing the annual report for the police force, answer all questions that come in to the force and answer all mail regarding police activities. Police Week, mall displays and citizen bravery citations are other funcâ€" tions carried out by this section. The highest profile section within Comâ€" munity Relations however is the Crime Prevention area, responsible for impleâ€" menting all Crime Prevention programs, monitoring them and evaluating results. The implementation and success of these programs, according to Taylor, is the result of a definite chemistry between PAany‘s, * . 2l . * Ad TZ. . > ,.» tipek t