In support of the Danville Public School system's start of the new school year, Danville Police welcomed students back to school today. Officers rode buses and greeted students on school grounds.
The effort was part of the Police Department’s community and youth engagement program, and it gave the department an opportunity to acquaint students with officers.
“We want to continue with our philosophy of strong partnerships in the city of Danville,” Police Chief Scott Booth told the Danville Register & Bee. “There’s no anticipated threat — nothing like that — we just thought it would be a cool thing to do.”
Booth said the department will continue to put officers on school campuses to engage youth. While that takes a good bit of manpower, he said, it is worth doing.
“I can’t do that every day, but this isn’t a one-shot deal,” Booth told the newspaper. “We’ll do it more than just the first day of school… I want us to keep our school visibility high.”
Earlier this year, Booth established the Community & Youth Engagement Unit. The officers assigned to this unit focus on crime prevention and community education, youth and community engagement, and blight and nuisance abatement.
