KIRTLAND, Ohio — The Kirtland Police Department has a BOLO (be on the lookout) alert for children's books. Officers are asking residents to help them collect new books to read to the city’s elementary students as they’ve done every week, for the past year.
The police department published a post on its Facebook page explaining more about its ongoing reading program and asked for the community’s help. The post welcomed residents to drop off books in a designated box placed in the station lobby. In just a few days, the box had already filled up.
“We knew right away that maybe we were onto something here,” said Chief Bryan McCallister. “They [the community] see what we’re doing out there every day and they want to help us and to be a part of it and that gives me so much satisfaction as a chief.”
Building Community Trust
McCallister says this program is what community policing entails. He says he is dedicated to strengthening the community’s trust, starting with their youngest civilians.
“The next generation, that’s everything. That’s why we’re here and they’re going to be running this world eventually. So, I think people that are in authority need to make those connections and show them that we are people, that we are approachable, and just give them a comfort level with us that they haven’t seen before,” he shared. “I can walk through the halls now and kids are high-fiving me and waving and saying hello and when I first started that wasn’t the case because they weren’t used to seeing us.”
McCallister’s squad of 11 officers has been rotating week after week to read to students. As McCallister explained, “most of our guys are parents. So, there’s nothing like connecting with little children and just seeing that joy of life I think it in fuses energy back into the police department. He added the genuine approach is allowing officers to familiarize themselves with the school, students, and flow, in case of an emergency.
“We see what’s going on nationally and we want to be prepared in the event that something occurs and getting officers in the school walking through that’s a huge part of that component,” McCallister said. “It’s about taking the time and making the right connections to be able to have access.”
Summer Reading with Officers
Depending on the number of books donated, McCallister says he plans to line the walls of the police station lobby with bookshelves for children. He hopes to offer summer reading with officers, allowing children to check out books from the station, and receive rewards for participation.
“We want the police department to not only be a police people come when they’re in trouble, but I have a comfort level to come here and talk to us at any time,” McCallister said. “That’s really what we were looking for in the City of Kirtland is establishing those relationships and being able to actually get out there and make a difference.”
