Cst. Ron Meyers (left) and Cst. Derek Simonson posing with a student at the Riverside School's Halloween Dance. (Submitted Photo/ Prince Albert Police Service Facebook page)

By Ronald Quaroni

Pumpkin Patrol

Community Policing Unit raids Riverside

Oct 30, 2019 | 2:00 PM

“Are those your costumes?”

That was the question posed by students at Riverside School as the members of the Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS), Community Policing Unit dropped in on their Halloween Dance last Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Cst. Derek Simonson and Cst. Ron Meyers gave a presentation to kindergarten students at the school, touching on the important aspects of Halloween safety. Once the presentation was over the class invited the officers to attend their dance.

“It was an opportunity to connect with the kids,” Cst. Derek Simonson said. “It was a lot of fun, great success. A ton of good connections with the kids, teachers, parents and the staff, it was excellent.”

Cst. Ron Meyers explained it gave them a nice opportunity to do some neighbourhood police work.

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“A lot of parents and students were kind of asking, ‘what’s going on, is everything ok?’ It really opened our eyes up, just trying to change that mindset that, if they see a police officer something is wrong. That’s what our unit is all about,” Meyers told paNOW.

Not only was the day a great opportunity to meet with staff and students, but also a chance to relay some important Halloween-related information.

On top of costume concerns, the pair laid out some guidelines for trick-or-treaters. Young candy-collectors should always be accompanied by an adult or older sibling while going to door-to-door. Never enter a stranger’s house and parents should look over treat bags once children get home and throw out anything suspicious.

“If packaging looks like its been altered or opened. Look through that stuff, if there is any abnormalities use your common sense,” Cst. Derek Simonson explained.

He said parents should keep an eye for any edible marijuana products, that might be appealing for kids, as incidents have already popped up around Western Canada where children have come across products and mistaken them for candy.

The Community Policing Unit will be active during the day of Halloween. If residents have police-related concerns they advise phoning 9-1-1 for emergencies and to forward other, less concerning calls to the (PAPS) general line (306) 953-4222.

Simonson added that their biggest calls on Halloween tend to be mischief related.

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Ron.quaroni@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @RonaldQuaroni