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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday July 6, 2007 - 3 Building young black community leaders By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Halton Regional Police took steps to build a bridge between themselves and the region's black communities, holding a seminar with members of Black Youth in Action- A Black Youth Community Leadership and Antiracism Initiative on Wednesday. The group, led by the Canadian Caribbean Association of Halton (CCAH), met with police at Town hall in an effort to break down barriers of mistrust and give black youth an up close and personal look at local police and what they do. "I think most people don't have an experience with a police officer unless they get stopped for speeding or something, regardless of ethnicity," said Staff Sgt. Larry Masson. "With this group of people we have the opportunity to let them see that we are real people and that there's humour, there's families, we have children, it gives them a perspective that they might never ever otherwise have. So, it's really important for them and our hope would be that they take it out to their community." This seminar is the third training module in a larger two-year program, headed by the CCAH, aimed at turning about 60 black youth in the Halton Region into community leaders. "You need leaders because you need someone showing you where to go, what to do and really demonstrating positive behaviours," said Veronica Tyrrell, President of the CCAH. "Positive role models are what we are trying to create here because everyone looks up to a leader and a role model and if you have positive role models the community will be safe because the behaviours will be positive." Tyrrell is hoping that the qualities of leadership and respect, which the workshops emphasize, will spur these young people to take action in their communities and work to protect them from negative elements like gangs and drugs. "We want them participating in the community. People that take action and participate positively in the community don't usually tear it down. Hopefully we will have those sort of community members," she said. The day-long workshop began with advice for the young people on how to deal with the police. "I think if you can deal with the police properly, you can deal with conflict resolution fairly well," said Detective Mike Brown. By describing the police officer's point of view, Brown helped the young people understand how just being polite and calm during an encounter with the police can go a long way to help the situation for all involved. "How many of you in this room like dealing with rude people?" asked Brown. This question immediately struck a cord with a young woman in the audi- DAVID LEA / OAKVILLE BEAVER CLOSE ENCOUNTER: Emefa Quist and Danielle Pitt take the opportunity to check out a police cruiser during a Black Youth in Action seminar with the Halton Regional Police. "I think most people don't have an experience with a police officer unless they get stopped for speeding or something, regardless of ethnicity." Halton Regional Police Sgt. Larry Masson ence, who noted she could relate because of her experiences working in the customer service industry. "You show them respect and they're not giving it back," she said. Brown noted that, since police officers are human beings, they feel insults and disrespect like anyone else, but police officers have the power to make the situation most unpleasant for their tormentor. "Do you think it's a good idea to get into an argument with a police officer that has the power to take away your freedom for a certain amount of time?" he asked. Brown also noted that because there are police officers out there that have the personality of a `peanut' on occasion, the young people might have to deal with an officer who is less than kind or mature. In this instance, Brown said it was the young people who would have to show the maturity. Brown also explained to the young people why they should keep their hands out of their pockets when dealing with the police. "Officers are trained to be cautious and concerned about anybody, doesn't matter if they're black, white, Filipino, Chinese, they are trained to be cautious when people have their hands concealed because then there is the potential that there could be a weapon on that person," said Brown. "So, if an officer asks you to remove your hands from your pockets, it's not because they think you are up to something, it's just that they will feel more comfortable if your hands are not concealed." The Black Youth in Action participants also learned about the effects of bullying and the need for strong leaders to intervene and stop it. The plight of the victims of bullying was driven home particularly hard at the close of that segment in which Constable Bruce Hasenbacher displayed the suicide note of a 14-year-old girl. The note expressed the girl's daily terror of being bullied and the fear she felt that telling someone to get it to stop would only make the situation worse. The note concluded with the words, `I love you all so much.' "What have we lost now that this young girl is dead? Could she have helped cure cancer or something like that, I don't know," said Hasenbacher. "You need to empathize because this (being bullied) can happen to any of you." Another segment of the day's seminar dealt with gangs, graffiti and the link between the two. Detective Constable Derek Di Felice kicked off his presentation with a definition and purpose of the street gang. "A gang is three or more people, involved in some type of criminal activity to intimidate, dominate and rule an area," he said. Di Felice also used this opportunity to warn the future community leaders present to be vigilant, as street gangs have long arms and are always looking for new areas to spread their influence. "I really appreciate you guys coming down here and talking about this because if you let it come, it will come, and what better place to recruit than in a high school," he said. "They will come here and they are here. They're in Toronto. They're in Hamilton." Di Felice says the presence of gangs in Halton was made perfectly clear in 2001 when several alleged gang members beat 19-year-old Matthew Daly to death after he refused to let them into a See Graffiti page 11 On The Spot! C A R P E T C L E A N I N G S P E C I A L I S T S® Since 1952 Thank you Oakville for choosing us #1 eight years in a row! 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