DFC students to create Crime Stoppers video

Two Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School students are looking forward to creating a Crime Stoppers video for their school.
“We’ll have to brainstorm to get a clear idea of what we’re going to do,” said DFC student Moses Patawanick during a Nov. 30 Thunder Bay District Crime Stoppers training session with students from across the Thunder Bay area. “Get all the steps in place first and do it right.”
The Crime Stoppers video project was developed in partnership with the Confederation College broadcasting program to help each school in the district create a video with key messages, such as bullying, assaults, drug and alcohol, specifically geared towards their own students.
“We’re trying to find unique interesting ways to promote Crime Stoppers to their peer group,” said Thunder Bay Police Services Const. Julie Tilbury, coordinator of Thunder Bay District Crime Stoppers. “We want to get new current ideas and they are the ones who are going to help us do this.”
Tilbury said the videos should be completed by the end of March 2013.
“We just want to have the youth of Thunder Bay help us in crime prevention strategies and getting the word out about Crime Stoppers to their peers,” Tilbury said. “We know that youth have information and we want to let them know how this program works so that should they ever need to call Crime Stoppers for a variety of reasons, they know how to do it.”
In addition to the video project, the students learned about a variety of topics that affect their peer group, such as a video that showed the dangers of texting while driving a vehicle.
“They showed us a video of the dangers that can happen if you text and drive, what the consequences are that is going to happen if you are unlucky,” said DFC student Rashii Fiddler. “Some people lost their loved ones; some people lost the ability to function properly.”
DFC teacher Trevor Workman said the DFC students enjoyed the training session, noting they interacted in group activities and contributed valuable responses.
“It’s a really nice opportunity for the students from all the high schools in Thunder Bay to interact and get to know one another,” Workman said.
Tilbury is looking for the students to promote Crime Stoppers in their schools on a yearly basis.
“We’re hoping some of these kids will stay with us for a couple of years until they graduate high school,” Tilbury said. “It’s our way of just getting into the high schools and getting peers to promote to peers about Crime Stoppers and the message we are trying to get out.”