Over
200 Grade 7 and 8 students from St. Anne School in Hanmer were given a
real lesson in reality recently when Constable Richard Daypuk, of the
Sudbury Regional Police Department conducted a special seminar at the
school.
Constable
Daypuk worked for ten years as a bailiff at the Sudbury Court House prior
to moving over to the community services branch of the Sudbury Regional
Police Department, so he has seen his share of people in trouble with the
law. In fact, Daypuk, explained that in those ten years at the Court House
he saw over 20,000 prisoners go through the system...with about half of
the total being young offenders!
He
explained to the children that they were no longer boys and girls, but
rather men and women in the eyes of the legal system. What they once
thought of as childish pranks are now defined as criminal acts under the
law. Simple things like being involved in a school yard fight; taking
someone’s pencil; constantly harassing a fellow student; and, verbally
threatening someone; are all examples of situations for which a person
could now find him/herself cuffed and taken off in a police car to
headquarters.
“Many
kids think that crime is a joke until they realize just how serious it
is,” explained Daypuk. “If you hit another person with the intent to
hurt that person, you could find yourself arrested and appearing in front
of a judge. Furthermore, a criminal conviction as a young offender will
stay with you until you are free of further convictions for five
consecutive years. It does not disappear at the age of 18 unless you have
been out of trouble for five years.”
Daypuk
continued, “You are all at an age where the baby excuses have to go!
What you do now may affect you for the rest of your life. Most jobs you
apply for today, especially any jobs that involve working with children or
in a position of trust and confidence, demand a criminal check on all
applicants. Do you really think you will be hired if an employer finds out
that you have a criminal conviction? Do you really think you will be
allowed to coach a hockey team if you have a criminal record?”
Constable
Daypuk pointed out that the lack of respect for authority among young
offenders is one of the most disturbing things he has noticed since being
on the police force.
“I
dealt with over 4000 prisoners a year at the court house. Half of those
were young offenders. And I tell you that the young offenders were the
most disrespectful, in general, of all prisoners,” he exclaimed. “I
recall one day when I had to escort two members of the Hell’s Angels
from the jail to the court house by myself. These two were huge men who
could have broken me in half without batting an eye. I was really worried
about what might happen if they decided that they didn’t wish to
cooperate. After they were sentenced by the judge and I had to bring them
back to the jail, one of them turned to me and asked, “Where would you
like me to go now, sir?” This is the kind of respect that many hardened
criminals give to people in authority. But when I have to handle young
offenders, many of them are rude, defiant, full of foul language and are
constantly doing things to make matters worse for themselves.”
“Show
a little respect for yourself and for others and it will take you a long
way,” advised Constable Daypuk. “Take for instance if I have two
people in the jail cell and they both want to make a phone call to their
lawyer. One of the prisoners demands that I let him make the phone call,
calling me all sorts of obscene names while shouting out the orders. The
other prisoner asks me politely if I would please let him make a phone
call to his lawyer to get some information. Who do you think is going to
be allowed to make the first phone call?”
Daypuk
made it clear that the ‘zero-tolerance’ philosophy being adopted by
schools and businesses will make it all the more important for young
people to make the proper decisions now. It is not worth getting in
trouble for something stupid if it will affect you for the rest of your
life. There is no such thing as not knowing the law. If in doubt, find
out!
Constable Daypuk
conducted four separate seminars so that each group could be kept as small
in numbers as possible, thus allowing for more of the students to ask
questions. He was very well received by the students who expressed their
gratitude for him taking the time to clarify their rights and
responsibilities as young adults.
