ATHABASCA – How long should a child be in a car seat for? Should it be rear- or front-facing? When does a child seat expire?
Sgt. Jason Ollie, a community peace officer with Athabasca County, is hoping to help parents answer these questions and more during an Aug. 27 info session at the annual Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) barbecue.
“There isn’t a whole lot of information available when you’re a new parent, or just in general with child seat safety,” said Ollie.
“People don’t really take a whole lot of time to look into the full scope of the safety aspect when it comes to a child seat. Even though there’s an initiative in November when we do checks, this will be more beneficial to the public, especially as we’re gearing up to go back to school.”
Ollie said the focus is on education instead of enforcement, and doing the outreach at a community event makes that abundantly clear.
“Sometimes, especially if you stop someone for speeding, it’s just not the right setting and people aren’t as receptive to receive the information,” he said. “We find having these outreach programs or barbecues to engage the public (work well) because we don’t want the public thinking, ‘Well if something is wrong, I’m going to get a ticket.’”
As part of the education, Ollie and his fellow peace officers will be bringing information packets which contain frequently asked questions, helpful tips and tricks for newborns, and the relevant sections of the Traffic Safety Act so parents know what the law says.
“Full disclosure: I thought certain things were safe when, in fact, they weren’t. I did it with my first kid for a number of years before I found out, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have done that,” said Ollie. “It’s eye-opening once things have been pointed out to you.”
Security measures for new bikes
Athabasca County is also rolling out another youth-focused initiative that will help members of the RCMP or other peace officers identify lost or stolen bicycles.
The Bike Index program, which is free to access, provides the county peace officers with a contact, photo, and serial number for a bicycle — Ollie said everything from strollers to scooters can be registered as well — and has had success across North America.
“The Edmonton Police Service and the Calgary Police Service use this quite prominently and it’s been very helpful for them,” said Ollie, who got firsthand experience with the Bike Index when he worked in Edmonton.
“It isn’t for the sole purpose of providing us a tool to start investigating or getting people in trouble. It’s great for bridging the gap between law enforcement and youth, and to show that we’re here to help.”
Ollie said the program also allows officers to talk with kids about bike safety, including how to be safe around motorized vehicles, and what to do when an accident happens.
“In the unlikely event that something does happen, it provides us a good tool,” he said.
Bikes can be registered with Athabasca County’s community peace officers or at Cheap Seats Sporting Goods at the point of sale.
“It gives us another opportunity to not only reunite people with the property they’ve worked really hard on, but it allows us to address the property crimes and thefts that have been rapid in the rural areas,” said Ollie.
