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School Safety Patrols Page 4 THE YORK NEWS May, 1980 Starting about the mid- dle of May, drivers using Vaughan Road west of Oakwood will notice a change in the way youngs- ters will be crossing the pedestrian crosswalk at Onslow Avenue, near D'Arcy McGee Catholic School. Police-trained School Safety Patrollers, from the grade seven class, will accompany the child- ren before school and at dismissal times, keep them in orderly groups, and help to insure that they use the crosswalk only when all vehicular traffic has stopped. The Patrollers will be identified by special belts and insignias, and by the bright, pull-on sleeves they wear. You and the Law May will mark the first appearance of the children on the sidewalks, but the program started many months ago within the school community itself. Parents had repeatedly requested a School Cross- ing Guard for the Onslow crosswalk. When the traf- fic survey conducted by the Police Department indi- cated that a guard was not justified, the parent- teacher committee invited Sgt. Keates, from the Police Commuity Rela- tions department, to meet them and explain the School Safety Patrol pro- gram to the staff and the THE NEW PROVINCIAL _ OFFENCES ACT In this article, I will deal with the frrst part of the new law. WAYS OF BEING CHARGED - Under the new law there are 4 ways a police officer or a provin- cial offences officer, the latter being persons who have been appointed by the Attorney General to enforce specific acts for example, a Municipal By- Law enforcement officer can charge you; (1) Certificate of Offence and Offence Notice (2) Certificate of Offence and Summons (3) Summons (4) Information Each of the different ways has different legal implications and in this article I will be dealing with implications concerning the first way of charging - the Certificate of Offence and Offence Notice. This method of charging will be used for relatively minor offences such as speeding of up to 10 mph over the speed limit. PARKING TICKETS - Curiously, the new law does not as yet apply to parking offences. The practical implication of this is that unless a blue form is actually delivered to you as distinct from a parents at the school. Officer Charlie and Officer Fred, permanently assigned to the Patrol program, accompanied Sgt. Keates, and took plenty oftime to show slides and explain how the training and the program would proceed. They answered questions from parents and teachers, reassuring the group that they would remain in close contact with the school and with the children even after the training period, when the School Safety Patrol was in operation. A vote was taken and the officers won the consent to begin. The next step was to select twenty responsible boys and girls from the grade seven class to be the pilot members of the patrol. Parents of the selected children had to agree to their participa- tion; in some cases this meant more questioning back and forth between the home and the school. Meanwhile, all of the classes at D'Arcy McGee, from the primary grades through grade eight, were instructed by the two safety officers about the new pro- gram through a series of presentations to the stu- dents. Kindergarten child- ren will be instructed shortly before the new patrollers begin in May. yellow parking ticket being left on your vehicle, you can still choose not to respond to the parking ticket without fear of being convicted in your absence. However, my advice from an economic point of view, is to pay legitimate parking tickets. If you don't respond to the parking ticket then a summons must be mailed to you. Ultimately, such a sum- mons must be served on you personally if you ignore the mailed sum- mons. Only after personal service can you be con- victed in your absence. The new law brings in a complete reversal. Unless you respond within 15 days of receipt of the notice of offence, you can be con- victed in your absence. REQUIREMENTS FOR VALIDITY OF CERTIFI- CATE OF OFFENCE AND OFFENCE NOTICE: l. The certificate must be completed, i.e. your name, address, alleged offence, its date and place. 2. The certificate of offence must be signed by the police officer who charged you. 3. The offence notice must be personally served on you within 30 days after the offence occurred. Personal ser- School priricipal Michael Showing them the ropes. Costello endorses the pro- gram as "an excellent way for our youngsters to learn the habits ofsafety, notjust the patrollers themselves but all the children in the school." Discipline and co- operation are esssential for the students who will be crossing with the patroller's help. On the sidewalk, the patroller will be in charge, and as the program gets underway drivers and youngsters alike will come to respect the motions of vice means the police officer must actually hand you the docu- ment. It can't be mailed. 4. The policeofficermust request that you sign the certificate of offence, but if you don't, it is still valid. 5. The Police officer who charged you or the per- son who serves you must either certify or swear that they served you with the notice of offence. 6. The certificate of offence must be filed with the Court within 6 months after the offence occurred. This is a new law but pre- sumably if at a trial any one of the above requirements has not been complied with, then the charge must be dismissed on technical grounds. Of course, the duty to point out such defi- ciencies will be up to the person charged. 1. A person can simply plead guilty by signing the offence notice paying the fine indicated, and mailing or delivering a cheque to the Court office indicated. This constitutes of course, a conviction and points will be taken off and your licence can be lost if in fact OPTIONS IF CHARGED BY A CERTIFICATE OF OFFENCE: By Michael J. McDonald, B.A., LLB. this police officer instructs students at D'arcy McGee the arms with the bright schools throughout North red sleeves. However, York, Etobicoke, Scarbo- patrollers do not actually rough and the City of stop traffic as an adult Toronto have trained and Guard can d0.They simply installed patrollers in the keep the students in line last few years. Rural dis- behind them until the traf- tricts have relied on this fic thins out or the drivers safety factor for many come to a full stop. more years. Most impor- D'Arcy McGee will be tantly, according to Offic- the first school in York to ers Fred and Charlie, participate in the police- "There has not been a sin- sponsored School Safety gle accident related to the Patrol program, but is not program yet." That's quite new to Metropolitan an outstanding record! D'Arcy McGee will be the first school in York to participate in the police- sponsored School Safety Patrol program, but is not new to Metropolitan Toronto. More than 75 2. The main new prodcedure is the ability to plead guilty with an expla- nation at the Court office at a time convenient to the person charged. However, a person's record exceeds 15 points. it should be stressed that the Court office can only reduce the fine. He cannot change the loss of points or the suspension of a licence. 3. A person can decide to plead NOT GUILTY - BUT if he decides to do so, he must sign the Not Guilty on the offence notice and deliver it to the Court office within 15 days after he has been served. If a person fails to do this, he is deemed NOT to dispute the charge and can be con- victed without further notice and in his absence. Note that the accused must deliver - this can be by mail or physical delivery. Obviously, if delivery is to be by mail then one should allow sufficient time and unless registered mail is used, one runs a risk of non-delivery. Obviously, if delivery is to be by mail then one should allow suf- ficient time and unless reg- istered mail is used, one runs a risk of non-delivery. Readers may agree that indeed this is "simple jus- tice" but if not, you may wish to fasten this article to your favourite notice board. The Metropolitan WE WILL SELL YOUR GOOD USED ITEMS CONSIGNMENT. WHY PAY TO ADVERTISE? WE WILL SELL IT FOR YOU FOR LESS THAN THE PRICE OF AN AD. Giftware, China, Antiques, Collectables, Jewellery, Silver, Pictures, Stereos, TN.'s, Radios, C.B.'s, Small Appliances - Household Items. Thank their many friends for their concern and well wishes during Oscar's stay in the hospital and during his convalescence. a-r-tIt-ttttTet-Il OSCAR & BEATRICE KOGAN Oscar Kogan Alderman Ward 2 1913f i 632 ST. CLAIR AVE. W. 656-2935 gait'st imam: G. P. SALES attain: ain't AND Separate School Board has supported the program in other boroughs, and wel- comes its introduction now at D'Arcy McGee. In Sep- tember, St. Nicholas of Bari, on Rogers Road, should have their trained patrollers guarding their front crosswalk. Trustee Caroline Di Giovanni has been involved in bringing the School Safety Patrol program into York at both the school community and at the York Safety Council.