Metro Atlanta police department provides students, parents reassurance through school safety program

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — With school right around the corner, the Smyrna Police Department launched a safety program this week, for students and parents.

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The department wants the community to know when school officially starts, they’ll be prepared.

“We realize that parents as well as our children are uneasy because of the things they see go on in this country, and we are just trying to reassure them that we are here for them,” said Lt. Louis Defense, the public information officer for the Smyrna Police Department.

“It feels a lot better because you kind of know what to do if something did happen. At school, they only teach you a few things — not, like, everything you need to know,” said Ava Kraus, a program participant.

The two-week safety program is geared towards children, teenagers and parents. The program includes a Teen Police Academy, firearm safety instruction, CPR training, anti-bullying advice and lessons that will help empower students before they head back to school.

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“We talk to them about safety precautions. We can talk to them about what to do in case of an emergency situation and how to respond. We’re talking to adults about how to respond to an active shooter, what it’s going to look like when we arrive. Internally, we’ve been making sure that all of our officers have the latest training with how to respond to an active shooter,” said Lt. Defense.

Students also learn how police process crime scenes and the tools they use to gather evidence, like fingerprints at a crime scene.

“Some of these kids have a genuine interest in becoming law enforcement officers. We are just trying to give them a balanced dose of what we go through on a day-to-day basis,” said Lt. Defense.

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“I think it’s amazing to get the opportunity to know what they’re doing and how they are helping,” said Kaitlin Bennett, a program participant.

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