Local children are getting lessons in gun safety, thanks to Tampa police and a local non-profit agency.
- Tampa police, non-profit teaming up to educate kids about gun safety
- School resources officers will receive training
- Program aims to prevent crime by educating kids
The Tampa Police Department has teamed up with the Bay Area non-profit, MORE HEALTH Inc., to educate kids about guns and gun violence.
On Thursday, Chief Eric Ward, his officers, and instructors met with children at Villa Madonna School in Tampa. The students learned how hard it could be to tell the difference between a real and fake gun. They were also shown x-rays of bullets inside the human body.
Ward believes educating kids about guns and gun violence can help reduce crime in the community.
“Last year we recovered over a thousand firearms and those firearms could've ended up in the hands of one of these kids," he said.
The department's school resource officers will be trained on the presentations this summer. The SROs will be actively involved in presenting MORE HEALTH’S curriculum to third and sixth graders during the upcoming school year.
The police department recently pledged to provide the non-profit with financial assistance to support the organization's mission of educating children on the dangers of firearms in hopes that it will have future crime prevention benefits.
The partnership will also create new opportunities for police officers to engage in open dialogue about guns with kids at a young age.
"We hope that we will definitely decrease that crime rate and also encourage that communication and engagement between law enforcement and the children and their families," Executive Director Karen Buckenheimer said.
MORE HEALTH expects to give these presentations to more than 25,000 students across Hillsborough and Pinellas County in the upcoming school year.