Fresno County Sheriff’s Office gives books to young people to steer them from crime | Opinion
Our precious children are our future. We strive to create a vibrant, productive, safe and healthy community for them to thrive. We all have a responsibly to invest in our younger generation during their formative years and to continue to support them throughout adolescence.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and its many partners, such as the Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, are committed to providing educational opportunities for children to develop into their best selves. We have several programs that focus on both growing and protecting our youth.
The Sheriff’s Reading Posse program was introduced in 2012. Studies show that 60% of incarcerated adults cannot read and 85% of juvenile offenders have difficulty reading. If we can improve literacy in Fresno County, there is a strong chance of reducing crime. Our deputies, correctional officers and professional staff members have access to a wide variety of educational books available for children of all ages that we pass out free of charge. Included with each book is an application for a library card. We know that if we make a positive connection with a child and encourage reading, it can be life changing.
Reading produces great family bonding and literacy. Our goal in law enforcement is to give children a chance to read their way out of criminal life. Once empowered with the ability to read and write, children will perform and excel in the classroom, putting them on a path to graduating high school and heading away from crime.
Our community service officers also lead a program known as the Sheriff’s Activities League (SAL). A substantial portion of the activities occur during the summer months. CSOs utilize funds collected by the Sheriff’s Foundation for Public Safety, which is our agency’s nonprofit organization, to host free day camps.
There, children in our rural communities are given an opportunity to interact with our staff, high school and college students in environments where their minds are challenged, and their physical abilities are tested. It also helps parents by knowing their children are being given a chance to continue educational activities when school is not in session. Our hope is to keep children occupied in a safe, educational environment to steer them away from potential delinquent behaviors.
Funds are often used to take children on field trips, supply them with new bicycles and sports equipment. The Sheriff’s Office knows positive reinforcement can translate into positive behavior, thus encouraging students to make smart choices in life that will open doors in their future.
Our Explorer Youth Academy is open to children between the ages of 14-20. It provides an opportunity to those who wish to explore a career in law enforcement, or simply gain a better understanding of how our profession and the criminal justice system work. The group meets once a week with trained law enforcement members who teach them valuable physical and mental skills. Beyond this, the academy offers interactive challenges for explorers as they get to participate in statewide competitions to test their skills against individuals of their same age.
The Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is comprised of deputies and civilians who educate children and parents about responsible internet use. They inform them of existing dangers online and how to avoid sexual predators. There is a focus on proper social media use, such as cyberbullying, and reporting something that could pose a threat to the community and/or schools.
Deputies regularly conduct investigations and operations into those who have either sexually abused children or are trying to take advantage of them via an online platform. Once identified, these predators are tracked down, arrested and prosecuted.
Along with keeping our children safe from internet crimes, the Sheriff’s Office partners with county schools, local school districts and other law enforcement and community agencies to keep students safe while at school. These include the annual School Safety Symposium, the Safe Schools Coalition and the Targeted Violence Prevention Task Force, where the Sheriff’s Office participates in training with county schools to build and maintain school-site teams who can prevent violence, promote inclusivity and connect with children to maintain a sense of psychological safety.
Our office endeavors to establish a friendly, trusting relationship between both adults and children to build a better, safer community. By setting a strong foundation of being an agency who is reachable and reliable, it earns us the mutual respect that our agency and the public deserves as we perform our jobs daily.
