The Fontana Police Department is a valuable resource for citizens. Not only do our brave officers in blue keep the peace, they are also diligent in reaching out to citizens of all ages through community outreach programs. These include quarterly neighborhood meetings, the annual Child's Fair, and Red Ribbon Week.

The purpose of the quarterly meetings is for the police and city staff to hear what citizens have to say, and in return, to offer help. The neighborhood gatherings are valuable tools for citizens to become informed about what is going on in their areas by speaking directly to the police and other city staff. For a little over an hour, residents are given advice about how to best contact the police, recognize code enforcement violations, receive traffic updates, and learn about community service programs.

Last quarter, residents who attended the meetings viewed the Mayor's State of the City Address, discussed road construction, and heard statistics for individual areas. At more than one meeting, the Fontana Police Department was praised by residents for their quick response times to calls. At the Sierra Lakes meeting, a resident commended the police who were on the scene faster than the time it took to find the phone number and file a report.

The Police Department also has a renowned youth outreach program. Each year, at the annual child's fair police representatives along with a variety of vendors with booth displays provide educational outreach, drug awareness, and social resources to children and families. The kid's fair is the place where children can receive free health screenings and be entertained at the same time.

"The event is growing all the time," says community policing technician, Wendy Felshaw. "Right now, we have nearly fifty vendors and we receive more vendor applications daily."

This year the live entertainment will include an interactive presentation with exotic live animals and a long list of celebrity visitors such as McGruff the Crime Dog, the Hometown Bee, Officer Byrd, Bugs Bunny, and Daffy Duck. The 16th annual child's fair will be held on Saturday, September 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Fontana Police Department Parking Lot located at 17005 Upland Avenue. For more information, please call (909) 350-7758.

Elementary students will also be sure to tell their parents of Red Ribbon Week which is an annual event whereby our officers exchange their blue uniforms for red tights to help kids battle the dangers of drugs and alcohol. During the week of October, police officers dress as the Red Ribbon Rider, and visit local elementary schools. While the officers perform skits, the children in the audience take in the message to avoid drugs and alcohol. Look for more information about the event in early October.

While the Fontana Police Department is reaching out to the public it also offers several other tools for citizens and neighborhoods. Between regular duties, officers educate the public through the free Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.) certification class, (909) 350-7778, the Neighborhood Watch program, (909) 350-7706, the Community Assistance Program (CAP), (909) 463-0103, and online internet safety training for parents with young web surfers.

The Fontana Police Department is truly a community service provider of the highest caliber. To find out more about the programs and services offered to residents by the Fontana Police Department please visit online at www.fontanapd.org or visit the station at 17005 Upland Avenue.