Youth outreach is part of standard community policing in St. Paul

Never touch a gun; be careful when walking or riding a bike; and respect adults while also being cautious

By JAN WILLMS

For Officer Mark Ross, who has been with the St. Paul Police Department since 2001, talking with school children about his role as a police officer is second nature to him.

Photo right: St. Paul Police Officer Mark Ross, a Como resident, speaks with children in teacher Rhonda Sue Simonson’s kindergarten class at Hamline Elementary. “My prime objective is to get the kids to understand that most of what we do is helping people,” Ross said. (Photo submitted)

With his background as a school resource officer, Ross said he is often asked to go out and speak to schools. “I have spent a lot of time with kids,” said Ross, who is also raising his own children in the Como Park neighborhood.

This past May, Ross, who is a medal of valor winner, was invited to speak to the Hamline Elementary kindergarten class by teacher Rhonda Sue Simonson. Hamline Elementary is located at 1599 Englewood.

“We try to have fire trucks and police officers come at the end of the school year. We feel it is important for kids to know what to do in potential emergencies, and in summer they have more time, hence more potential risks,” Simonson said.

Simonson said that what impressed her so much about Ross, as well as other policemen and policewomen who have come to the school in the past, is how they want the kids to see them as real people.

“Officer Ross said he was wearing the uniform for his presentation, but he goes to his kids’ games in shorts, and he shops at Target and he rides the bus or uses a regular car. He is known by a badge number at work, but he has a name,” Simonson continued.

Ross concurred that one of the things he always talks about with kids is what he does when he is not at work. “We’re just people, part of the community,” he noted. “I have a family, and I’m doing the same thing the kids are doing. I’m going to the rec center or walking around the lake. Being a police officer is my job, but we’re just like everybody else.”

Explaining his job is a big part of what Ross does at his school presentation. “My prime objective is to get the kids to understand that most of what we do is helping people. We work within the community every day, and we help people all day long in all kinds of different ways.”

Through meeting with the kids, he hopes to build relationships with them so they know they can trust the police and consider them a resource for help.

“Of course, they want to talk about the equipment,” Ross said. “We go over that as well and explain to them what each piece of equipment is for, what it is used for and different ways we use it to help them and people in the community.”

He said kids always want to ask about the guns. “We try and get that out of the way very early and explain to them that guns are dangerous, and they should never touch a gun,” Ross said. “We try to explain that if they were to see a gun, don’t touch it; call an adult or call the police right away so they can deal with it. Do not touch it or let your friends touch it.”

He said that at the school presentation, he doesn’t necessarily talk about using deadly force. “I explain that the very last thing we want to do is use a gun,” Ross said. He tries to emphasize to the class that guns are very dangerous and should not be handled unless one is an expert or trained.

Ross also talks about safety when walking to school or crossing streets. “I tell them that just because you can see a car; it doesn’t mean the car can see you. Be cautious when crossing streets. When you’re riding a bike, wear your helmet and stay in pairs or groups.”

Ross said he encourages kids to be respectful to adults and their elders. “That’s a fine line with kids,” he admits. “You don’t want them to be too trusting. Even if they’re not comfortable with a situation, they can remain respectful and go get help. Or just develop one-liners where they can get themselves out of a situation.”

As an example, Ross said a child can say “No, my mom says I can’t. I have to go.”

Ross said he tells kids how they can help the police, also, by doing a good deed or reporting a crime or being a good witness.

“In many ways the police are preaching the same rule structure our discipline programs aim to enforce in schools,” Simonson said. “There are not good people and bad people, but sometimes a person makes a bad choice and helpers need to be available to keep all safe. It helps when we know the rules and talk about what went wrong.”

She said that research has proven that five-year-olds have a strong sense of right and wrong and appreciate rules, yet can have empathy. “I think it is very important that city workers, teachers, police, fire, recreation, and food service, work together to build the foundation of trust and responsibility to others.”

Ross said he believes the school presentations are a great way to ease tension between the police and the community, as well.

“But to be honest,” he added, “what we see in the media lately in terms of the police and strained relations, I think most police officers in St. Paul, and probably throughout the country, would tell you that is not necessarily the true narrative in terms of what is going on. Instead, the majority of people are happy to see us; they trust us, and they’re excited to see us out there. I’m out there patrolling in Frogtown every day, and I just don’t feel the kinds of things you think I might feel, based on the reporting on TV.”

Sgt. Paul Paulos of the St. Paul Police Department agreed. “We have a strong Police Athletic League program for older kids and an Explorer program for kids interested in law enforcement. I think our patrol officers do a good job in just getting out and talking to the kids,” he said. “It’s common to see them get out of a patrol car and throw around a football with some kids, or just talk to them. It’s part of working with the community, and I think we do a really good job of that.”