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We Remember

City of San Pablo
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P.I.S.T.O.L Program

The San Pablo Police Department police officer in the schools program is called PISTOL, "Police In Schools To Offer Life." Similar to "DARE", this program is more comprehensive.

P.I.S.T.O.L. Program

In the past,school aged children of San Pablo came into contact with the police only during times of crisis usually involving violations of the law, some form of violence, or death. Positive interaction with police officers was a rare occurence.

With the PISTOL Program, the San Pablo Police Department has been giving presentations to grade school children in our community schools for the past 9 yrs. The presentations focus on the dangers of firearms, drugs/gangs, and on safety awareness, and esteem building. PISTOL is designed to encourage communication, build trust, and provide positive interaction between children and Police Officers.

These objectives are accomplished by interacting with school aged children honestly and treating them with dignity and respect. Contact is made with students on at least (6) occasions through grade school, with more than 2,500 student contacts before high school.

History

In 1992, a 19-year-old gang member was killed on the streets of San Pablo. Out of the anguish from the inability to respond to cries for help from the deceased victim’s mother, the PISTOL Program was initiated by Officer Humberto Alvarez. Born and raised locally, Alvarez started the progam part-time after his regular duty hours in hopes of preventing future tradegies. By August 1997, he was assinged full-time to the position of Community/School Resource Officer. His primary responsibility was working within the schools as a means of intervention and prevention on issues relating to firearms and drugs/gangs, which included safety awareness classes for first and third graders, drug/gang avoidance classes for fifth graders, and advanced gang discussions with seventh graders.

Real life examples of local occurances were used to enhance the children's understanding and the Officer's credibility. Many children are familiar with the realities of these examples. Previously, law enforcement offered little or no direct information. Now, with increased flow of information, and the interaction with the Police Department in a positive manner, the youth entering middle school are better prepared to make “Positive Choices” in their day to day life decisions.

Goals

Our goals are to decrease gang involvement,increase safety awareness, reduce drug use through education and esteem building, and to provide an opportunity positive interaction between the youth of our community and our Police Officers.

City Council members and the community are very proactive and supportive of the P.I.S.T.O.L. Program. The annual fundraiser, the "Salty Beef Barbecue", produces substantial financial support for the PISTOL program. All public funds collected for PISTOL are used to provide direct benefit to the award recipients. This includes banquet expense, teaching materials, and the purchase of awards.

A “Community Awards Dinner” is held in May/June every year. The top students from each of our local schools are recognized for their outstanding efforts. These students are selected based on their school overall performance, including qualities of leadership, good citizenship, and in addition taking responsibility in the family setting, and acting as a role model to friends and siblings. A teacher, citizen, and parents of the year are also recongized at the dinner.

The purpose of this event is to bring our community closer, create stronger police/community understanding, recognize the positive efforts of local citizens, and make San Pablo a safer place to live.