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California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

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Hayward Promotes Safety

The Hayward Police held a Public Safety Expo at Southland Mall on Saturday to raise awareness of property theft precautions and bike safety, as accidents have increased alarmingly.

“As an agency, the police are typically reactive, but with the Public Safety Expo we are trying to be proactive and reach out to the Hayward community,” said Lt. Sheryl Boykins, who played a major role in creating the event.

The Expo was comprised of two separate events, the first event including 35 corporate and local businesses, from Walmart and Sears to Bay Alarm Company and other community groups who had booths lined up inside where mall goers could shop and learn about commercial and residential safety.

Each booth was adorned with black and white balloons that had the Hayward Police Department logo, yet little other visual aid was used to announce the Expo, which could possibly explain why there was not much traffic geared towards the event.

Despite the low publicity of the event, property burglaries have proven to be a serious matter of concern.

“Property burglaries in Hayward have been off the charts in the past year with a 120 percent increase since the year 2007,” Boykins said.

“Ninety percent of break-ins happen when a house does not have an alarm system, visual deterrents such as motion detectors or camera systems are the key to preventing burglaries,” said Jonathan Mealley from Bay Alarm Company, a local business that specializes in security systems.

While attendees were learning of common ways to protect against property theft, in a lot outside of the JC Penny’s store a Bike Rodeo was happening concurrently where children could bring their bicycles and complete an obstacle course.

Bicycle accidents have increased since school began, according to Boykins, because kids are reckless, do not always have the correct protection and daylight savings has caused it to become darker outside sooner.

The police were first alerted to this problem when a school requested an officer to help patrol bike traffic in the mornings.

In an effort to decrease bicycle accidents, the police gave away 35 helmets, donated mostly from the Children’s Hospital and some bought at a discount under budget.  Eight bicycles were also donated from Walmart.

At the Bike Rodeo, police officers guided young riders through the obstacle course, helping them with their safety and bicycle coordination. Before or after the course children could receive candy and also enter a raffle ticket in the bicycle giveaway.

Officer Yoshihata Toshikazu, who attended the booth, said, “Halloween is coming up and it could not have been better timing for this event to make kids more aware about safety.”

Not only were police officers hands-on in helping the children on their bikes, but the kids could also get up close and personal with all the different police vehicles.  Children were invited to sit in the front seat of a police cruiser or look inside a bulletproof Tactical Response Vehicle used in SWAT operations.

Even the CSU East Bay Police Department had a booth where children had a laugh trying on “drunk goggles” and walking in a straight line, although the kids did surprisingly better than their parents when wearing the goggles.

Boykins hopes to start a new tradition and hold a Public Safety Expo every year, which over time will foster a closer relationship between the Hayward Police and the community.

“We do not always do enough outside of our job description for the community,” said Boykins. “The relationships we do build need to be built on, not taken a step back. In these tough economic times we are going to need the support of the community.”

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Hayward Promotes Safety