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Boulder City Magazine® June 2006 Issue
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BCPD Informer
by John Chase, Deputy Chief
Boulder City Police Department
Child Occupation Protection - A Boulder City Report Card
The Boulder City Police Department, in conjunction with the Clark County Safe Kids Coalition, has conducted several car seat checkpoints over the last several years. I was recently asked, “Why does the police department ‘waste’ its staffing resources to conduct a car seat checkpoint when there are more pressing crime and disorder issues in Boulder City?” |
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While a number of issues do face our great community, we feel it is imperative that, as a police department, we do everything we can to keep the youngest members of our community safe; those who are unable to care for themselves.
The numbers are clear; parents, even with the best intentions, often do not install their child seats correctly. This task, which seems like an easy process, is much more difficult than expected. Seats are often too loose at the seat belt, too loose within the child restraint device, not the right size for the child, or in such a state of disrepair that they can no longer function safely. This is coupled with the fact that nearly every vehicle make and model has a different set-up required for proper car seat installation. All these factors lead to improper use and subject children to unnecessary risk of injury or perhaps death.
Does the average person we make contact with at our child seat checkpoints pass the test of having a properly installed car seat? A resounding no is unfortunately the answer. Our last checkpoint resulted in 64 child safety seats inspections – none of which were found to be installed properly. Since 2001 we have checked 622 seats and only 15 were properly installed. However, 622 children left our checkpoints in a seat that was correctly installed. We hoped the numbers would increase by conducting the checkpoints at the same location two times a year. However, the numbers are equally as dismal in the spring as they are in the fall.
While some people see this is as an intrusion or perhaps a source of aggravation, our intent is to serve and protect all residents of our community; including those too young to care for themselves.
Until next month, stay safe.
John Chase can be reached via his e-mail address at Jchasebcnv@earthlink.net |
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