Fall, 2002

Editorial

After the police left the park on that dark and windy night, and I had cleared the toys out of the sand pit, I cycled back up to where the three teenagers were. I asked them if they had any idea why the police had approached them. They said, no. One of them told me that once he had been sitting in our park with his friends when the undercover police suddenly arrived and put on a raid. "They were coming toward us swinging their batons," he said. "They didn't hit any of us, and they didn't end up charging anybody. But it was a really violent feeling." I asked him when this happened, and he said, without having to stop and calculate, six years ago.

Then the three of them got in their car and drove away.

Quite a few new families have moved into the neighbourhood recently, many with young children. Those toddlers will grow up and become teenagers too. Their parents may be wise to lay the groundwork now, to encourage our local police to stay within the bounds of legality. Skin colour makes a difference, of course, and in our park the teenagers of colour are often the first to be questioned. But these teenagers where white. So, parents, you have a stake in seeking police responsiveness to our community - all of it. For more background, and to post your helpful ideas, you might like to look at the "park safety" section of our park web site.

Jutta Mason