Despite the rainy weather, hundreds of people helped kick off Police Week with a family fun day at the Children’s Safety Village of Brant on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
Throughout the event, visiting families had the chance to meet with local law enforcement members from the Brantford Police Service (BPS), Six Nations Police, and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP.)
As well, Crime Stoppers, MADD, and T.I.C.K. (Teaching Intelligent Choices to Kids) were also on hand to educate community members, while Rookie, the Brantford Police Service mascot and Bruiser, the Brantford Bulldogs mascot, spent the afternoon mingling with youngsters.
Kathryn Gratton, Elementary School Resource Coordinator for the Brantford Police, said that while they ultimately made the decision to host this year’s event inside due to the rain, there were still plenty of fun things to check out.
“Today we have a couple different demonstrations inside for the kids; we have our remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) machine set up and an officer showing how it works, and as well, we have our Emergency Response team here with some of the equipment that they use to breach doors,” said Gratton. “We also have a face painting station, cut-out picture boards, toy cars for the kids to sit in, a pizza lunch and plenty of snacks to grab.”
She said that while the turnout was lower than in previous years, she was happy to see that there was still a steady stream of people visiting.
“I think last year we ended up having approximately 2,600 people come through this event but with today’s weather, the turnout has definitely been slower than normal for us,” said Gratton. “With that being said though, we’ve had a decent turnout today and people are still constantly coming in which is great to see.”
As the rain settled down, many children were sure to head outside to run around on the playground or explore a variety of police vehicles. From motorcycles to OPP cruisers, a BPS Gurkha armoured patrol vehicle, all-terrain vehicles and more, there were plenty of photo opportunities and memories to capture before heading home.
This year’s Police Week is running from May 14 to May 18, and with the underlying theme of “Join Policing: Keep Ontario Safe,” police stations across the province have been highlighting the role that police members play in community safety, and how members of the community can take an active role in keeping Ontario safe.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
