School safety patrol awards handed out at Nichols Oval
About 400 kids attend picnic
Monday, June 7, 2004 - Roderick Benns
On a windy, sunny afternoon recently, about 400 children from Grades 4 through 8 gathered at Nichols Oval in Peterborough to be part of an appreciative picnic for safety patrollers.

Many students also accepted awards from the Peterborough Lakefield Community Police, who put on the annual event. The School Safety Patrol Awards are for Grades 4 through 8 students – about 575 of them -- who volunteer their time before, during and after school to assist their peers. Their job is to get children to and from school safely from various points along the way, including at designated street crossings and near school buses.

All patrollers receive special training under the supervision of a teacher volunteer and members of the Peterborough Lakefield Community Police.

Constable Tim Millard says awards were given out to school captains, others for longevity of service to the program, some for bus patrolling and others for the top schools, among other recognition awards.

“This is a thankless job,” says Const. Millard. “In winter snow or rain they’re out there helping. And if we didn’t have them, the City would have to find someone else to do their job because it’s really their (the city’s) responsibility,” he says frankly. There is about a 90 per cent participation rate for schools in the program in the local area.

Local dignitaries were on hand, including representatives from both school boards, the City of Peterborough and sponsoring organizations were in attendance to recognize the work of the School Safety Patrol during the school year.

The School Safety Patrol has its origins in Windsor. In 1936 Sergeant Peter Doorigan of the Windsor Police Service recognized a need for a safety system, too get school children to and from school. After a visit to the Detroit Police Department, where a patrol was already up and running, the first safety patrol in Canada was established in Windsor at St. Alphonsis School.

In Peterborough, the program is about 20 years old. Const. Millard says he doesn’t know of any accidents during the history of the program. The School Safety Patrol program is also in 20 other countries around the world.

It has a proven safety record, according to facts provided by the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). The CAA reports that never in the history of the program has an injury or death been attributed to the negligence of a school patroller.

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