By: Nachman Schachter, President Northwest Citizens Patrol

The Northwest Citizens Patrol (NWCP) is all about crime prevention and safety. With over 400 volunteers, the NWCP drivers are out 6 nights a week with a dedicated Baltimore City Police officer helping to prevent crime in our neighborhoods. Besides the nightly patrols, the NWCP is involved in many other efforts and initiatives to keep the Baltimore community safe.

An exciting new program offered this July was the Adult Self-Defense Women’s class and the Adult Self Defense Men’s class.

The women’s self- defense course, held at the Park Heights JCC, was given by black belt, Jennifer Lake. About fifty women attended, ranging in age from post-high school to senior citizens. All gave Jennifer their rapt attention as she explained valuable and useful safety tips on staying safe and then everyone partnered up and participated in a hands-on, interactive session practicing basic self-defense moves. Throughout the class, Jennifer shared stories of how people had used their preparedness and ingenuity to stave off would be attackers. The attendees all agreed that they had learned a lot and had fun in the process. Everyone was so enthusiastic by what they had learned and the consensus was that a follow-up class should be planned for the future.

The men’s self-defense class was hosted and presented by black belt in ICS (Israeli Combat System) Ber Bulua of Masada Tactical. While much helpful information was shared, most of the class focused on hands on, interactive self-defense moves which the men practiced enthusiastically with a partner under the direction of Mr. Bulua. The men got a good work-out and learned moves that can be used by people of all ages. Participants enjoyed the class and thought it was informative and excellent.  Hopefully more classes will be scheduled, especially since space was limited and not all reservations could be accepted.

Another valuable NWCP program this summer was the child Bicycle/Car Safety Class which was attended by over 60 youngsters, ages 7 – 12 who arrived by van, car and, of course, on bikes. There were three dates and locations to choose from and all the classes were full. As the children excitedly watched Officer Sam Bennett, the NWCP police officer, engrave bicycles with their parent’s license numbers, they asked him many pertinent and interesting questions about what he was doing and why.

After all the bikes were engraved (to identify them in case of theft), everyone went inside to hear Mrs. Debbi Baer, President of the Maryland Child Passenger Association. Mrs. Baer, an expert in child vehicle safety, has been giving classes on the subject for the past 26 years. Armed with a funny, interesting, entertaining video and lots of props, she kept the kids involved and the program interactive.

Next, Officer Bennett spoke to the children about bike safety. He, too, had an interesting presentation and video for the children to watch. Afterwards, the children asked many good questions about what they had seen and heard. Whenever we offer this program, there are always questions directed at the police officer, personally, and this year was no exception.  “Is that your gun?” “Is it loaded with real bullets?” “Have you ever shot anybody?” Officer Bennett, as usual, managed to answer the children’s questions with a little smile and a lot of ingenuity.

Many parents ask me before the class if I think they should sit in on the class to monitor their child’s behavior. After all, the program lasts an hour-and-a-half and they are concerned that their children (especially the young ones) will not be able to sit that long. Based on past experience, my response is always that there is no need to stay because all of the children sit and listen. We have never had an issue with a child misbehaving or wanting to leave early. This year, we actually had a parent who said, “It was not long ago that I was sitting in that class. They share such helpful information that even parents would gain from coming. The information is useful and interesting for everybody no matter how old!”

Besides having a good time, the participants left with bike and vehicle safety tools and tips, an engraved license number on their bike, and of course, a coupon for a free bag of popcorn from the Candy Store.

(Source: BaltimoreJewishLife.com)