Students get lessons on safety, fingerprints

By Staff
Jason Houston FCT Managing Editor
Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett said it's important for children to see police officers as friends, not enemies.
That was the goal of a class Hargett and RPD Investigator Capt. David Hester held this week for Kim Hood's gifted class at Russellville Elementary.
Wednesday, Hester and Hargett spent some time with the students teaching them about the process of fingerprinting, with some safety tips thrown in for good measure.
Hargett said the time spent with the students went well, and he said the class was part of his overall goal for the police department.
When the fingerprinting class was finished, Hargett said they shared with the third graders some safety tips, such as what to do if approached by a stranger.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there were almost 800,000 children reported missing in 1999 alone, making abduction a problem Hargett said he certainly wanted to address.
The children were very receptive to the class, Hargett said, and he said he hopes to do more classes similar to Wednesday's exercise in the future.