Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
The Shawano Police Department will soon become the first in Wisconsin to offer a nationally known program geared to safety education and violence prevention for children.
radKIDS gives children ages 5-12 the knowledge and skills they need to “resist aggression defensively.”
The program trains children to recognize, avoid, resist and escape potential danger, empowering them to stop crimes before they start.
Police officers Shane Stang and Heidi Cartwright will conduct the training. Both attended a weeklong training session held in Lafayette, Indiana, to become certified radKID instructors.
The department anticipates having the first group of children, ages 5-7, complete the course in the beginning of 2016.
Classes will be broken into three age groups. Ages 3.5-5 years of age will participate in 20- to 30-minute classes; ages 5-7 in approximately 90-minute classes; ages 8-12 in approximately 2-hour classes.
A completed course will consist of 10 hours of radKIDS course instruction with simulation.
The program will teach children physical resistance to violence, according to the course description. Children are taught physical skills they can use to stop an abduction or protect themselves from violence. They are taught no one has the right to hurt them and understand that it is not their fault if someone does try. Children are given the ability and potential to never be a victim. Children are welcome back each year to attend the program until they reach the age of 13.
“A child who has gone through this training will utilize skills and techniques from the training to become a more difficult target for an abductor,” Cartwright said. “The training focuses on giving kids permission to act when their safety is put into danger. All their lives they are taught not to hit; this training shows kids it is OK to give physical resistance to a dangerous situation.”
The program also preaches escaping the situation as a first response rather than fighting, Cartwright said.
Stang said there is a false sense of security among some people that such things as child abductions don’t happen in a place like Shawano.
“I do believe people may feel it will never happen here,” he said. “Both victims as well as parents of victims have stated in interviews they never thought it would happen. Preparation is very important and giving the kids the knowledge is an excellent tool.”
The radKIDS program was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in South Dennis, Massachusetts. Curriculum topics include Home and School Safety, Out and About Safety, Realistic Defense Against Abduction, Fire Safety, as well as Good, Bad and Uncomfortable Touch.
The program is funded entirely by donations.
The money is going for program start-up costs, radKIDS T-shirts and bracelets, striking pads and protective equipment for the physical skills, props for hands-on activities, and printing costs for a family safety manual.
The department is looking for children ages of 5 to 7 for a class beginning in February at Shawano City Hall, 127 S. Sawyer St.
Interested people may contact the Shawano Police Department and leave their contact information.