California Police Chief- Fall 2013 CPCA_2018_Winter Magazine-FINAL | Page 36

Are they here to take me away?
By Joyce Lowe, Public Service Administrator and Lisa Thompson, Crime Analyst, Pittsburg Police Department
Parkside Elementary Principal
Jeff Varner explained that this is the
perception that many of his students
have of law enforcement. Many times
the only interaction Varner’s students
have with police officers are during
negative situations involving loved
ones. This is usually a very scary sce-
nario for a young child who isn’t yet
old enough to comprehend that the
officers’ role is actually ensuring their
safety during the interaction. “What a
joy it was to see my kids laughing and
playing with the Chief of Police” said
Varner.
While the model of Recess with
a Cop is not a new idea, the concept
is based on the very popular Coffee
with a Cop program; it is new to the
Pittsburg Police Department. The
focus of the program is for uniformed
police officers, including the Chief, to
visit elementary schools during recess
in order to engage the students in pos-
itive interaction through play in a re-
laxed and fun setting. The interaction
could be as simple as holding hands,
playing follow the leader or engag-
ing in a friendly game of tag. For the
more adventurous students there are
no games that are off limits: kickball,
tetherball and basketball, just to name
a few. With fun though comes the physical challenge of
engaging with the students while sporting a full uniform
and equipment. Pittsburg officers view that as “leveling the
playing field” with the young students, and even though
officers can carry in excess of 30 extra pounds on their duty
belt, they are still subject to the same game rules while
playing with the students. That includes freezing in place
when the end-of-recess bell rings.
When Pittsburg’s Police Chief, Brian Addington was
asked to be part of the Recess with a Cop program, he
quickly thought, “Who doesn’t love recess! There aren’t too
many jobs where you get to play with kids at an elemen-
tary school.” Chief Addington, father of 6 and grandfather
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of 2, jumped at the opportunity to have a little fun during
his busy workday. He didn’t arrive with an agenda. There
was no presentation, speech or formal dialogue with the
teachers or students. Instead, Chief Addington focused
on getting out onto the playground with the students and
loved every minute of it.
Chief Addington couldn’t think of a better way to
engage with the youth of Pittsburg and effect change in
how they view the police. By his mere presence on campus,
talking to and answering students’ questions about law
enforcement at an age-appropriate level they can under-
stand, it takes away much of the fear and mystery about
police officers. Chief Addington said, “People often ask me
how we change the negative perception some in our society