Plymouth’s Fraternal Order of Police is working to get kids outdoors, and give them a more positive perspective.
The organization held its first ever “Cops and Bobbers” event on Saturday. The gathering was designed to take children around the age of 10-years-old fishing while providing a bit of education about what law enforcement does.
Lodge 195 President Hurshel Hunter says the “Cops and Bobbers” fishing event gives the kids a chance for friendlier interactions with the police.
“You know, a lot of times the youth that we deal with are from single parents.,” says Hunter. “They’re less fortunate youth in our community. Needless to say, a lot of times the contact they have with law enforcement is when we do enforcement.”
The Plymouth FOP Lodge says they try to focus their activities on youth outreach for this reason.
This year’s “Cops and Bobbers” event saw about 10 youth show up. The FOP worked with the school corporations in Marshall County to identify students that may benefit from the interaction.
The Department of Natural Resources sent representatives to discuss water safety with the children. In addition, the Indiana State Police held a demonstration with their K-9 unit.
Hunter says the officers try to keep the conversation with the kids light.
“It’s just casual conversation,” says Hunter. “Nothing specific as far as the law enforcement aspect goes besides what the DNR officer did and the state trooper did with his dog.”
Next year’s fishing event at the park is already being planned. Hunter says the Indiana DNR will likely bring SCUBA equipment for a demonstration and a SWAT Team will discuss their activities with the children.
