The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office helped the Arlington community go one step further to ensure safety for children and its student population on Sunday, Dec. 2 at the high school by providing free child identification photo cards at the school’s ninth annual Winter Craft Emporium.
“It’s more of an insurance policy,” said Frank Letizia, detective for Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office. Letizia said he enjoys working with the community, especially assisting with programs such as child ID.
Letizia said that the Arlington Central School District had requested the child identification program be given as a chance for kids to see police in a new light and not just as officers with flashing lights and loud sirens.
“We don’t want kids to be afraid to report things,” he said. Letizia added that events like the ID card program help the sheriff’s deputies develop relationships with the public.
The child ID program, a free service to the public which is funded through the sheriff’s office in conjunction with the deputy sheriff’s union, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA), requires the parent to sign a child up. Then, an electronic digital fingerprint of two fingers is taken and the child’s information is logged into a secure computer database, which is filed and sent to Albany’s state computer. Any child abducted or lost goes through the Amber Alert System.
The service caught the attention from administration passing through the halls.
“It’s a great program the sheriffs operate,” said Tom Brooks, Arlington High School principal. “This day and age, you can never be too safe.”
One parent, Karen Becker, of Pleasant Valley, agreed, and said that Arlington High School is doing its part to ensure a safe haven for its students.
“The school already protects itself with security monitors at the doors,” she said.
Becker, whose two children attend LaGrange Middle School, said that identification is important to society in general when children get lost or go missing.
Five-year-old Jaidyn Herring had her fingerprints done once before at the Kids Expo in Poughkeepsie, when she was 1-and-a-half-years old.
Seventeen-year-old Maria Jayne, a senior at Arlington, was all smiles when she decided to get her ID made.
Jayne’s mother said her daughter will soon be going away to college, and the ID will protect her from getting lost in a new place.
Marist students lend a hand
Also at the craft fair, Marist College seniors Jodie Baker, Matt Driscoll and Shannon Simon assisted the Dutchess /Putnam County Radio Emergency Associated Communications Team (REACT), a group designed to emphasize community service through communication.
REACT’s mission is to “provide public safety communications to individuals, organizations and government agencies to prevent injuries, protect property and to provide assistance wherever needed.”
One of the students’ final college courses required the three communication majors to apply their education to a hands-on project.
The students created media kits and brochures, relaying REACT’s message to parents, teachers and most importantly, children, that educating one another about safety comes first. They have been working with the organization for the past three months.
“Our biggest goal is recruiting volunteers,” said Joe Namer, a member of Dutchess/Putnam REACT.
The students discovered REACT through a nonprofit Web site, volunteermatch.org, and became part of an event that would offer a chance to give back to the community.
Simon said she wanted an experience which would go along with her desire to work with kids. Baker, who said she has relatives in the law enforcement field, said she believes it is important for people to be involved in their community.
Aside from helping present information about child safety, Simon, Baker and Driscoll provided cookie and magnet decorations for children.
Namer took blood pressure readings throughout the day and said providing emergency care to his community gives him satisfaction.
Namer also said he has been involved with REACT for 29 years, adding that the organization works locally with the Union Vale Road Race, Tour De Dutchess, CPR and First Response, as well as the Salvation Army in Beacon.
“Nobody serves as a volunteer unless they get satisfaction in what they do,” he said.
For more information about the local REACT chapter, visit dutchessputnamreact.org.