The 6th Annual LAPD Essay Contest was open to students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District and schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Students were asked to write what they would do that would have the greatest impact on the community if they were a Los Angeles Police Department officer for a day. Each of the ten winners and their essay are featured on the Department’s website, one each week. The following essay is one of the ten winning submissions.
The
first thing I would do is choose a neighborhood elementary grade school
and visit each classroom and speak to the students about different
topics that I thought would impact the community. I would prepare
myself for the discussion by selecting which topics I would discuss and
have pictures to show the students.
The topic that I would talk about would be gangs, drugs, alcohol, guns, emergency and safety. The first topic is gangs and I would tell the children not to get involved in gangs because it is dangerous and people can get hurt or killed from gang violence.
The second topic is drugs and alcohol and I would tell them not to take drugs or drink alcohol because it destroys your body, it’s addictive and you can die from using it.
The third topic is guns. I would share with them that guns are not toys and are very dangerous. Children should tell an adult right away. People can get injured or killed from playing with guns.
The fourth topic is what to do in an emergency. Call 911 if it is a life threatening emergency or you see someone that needs help or get an adult.
The last topic is safety which is sharing with them not to play with fire, do not cross in the middle of the street, do not talk to strangers, do not get in the car with strangers, make sure you wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, and make sure you have your seatbelt on when you are riding in a car and obey the law.
The second part would be to discuss my uniform and why I carry a gun, baton, and handcuffs. I would talk to them about the police car and let them sit in it and explain the different equipment in the car and how it works. I would tell them as a police officer that my job is to protect and serve the community. Finally, at the end of my shift I would give them a little treat, a LAPD goodie bag with all the wonderful things in it.
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