The SWAT team, bomb squad, canine units, forensic units and every other special and regular police unit roamed the halls of Sheldon High School on Saturday at the Eugene Police Department’s largest community outreach event, Prevention Convention. Families and students swarmed the halls watching demonstrations and taking classes on the various jobs of the police.
From the KidZone and Teen Xtreme @@http://www.google.com/search?q=KidZone+and+Teen+Xtreme&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=dxu&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&ei=MC2JTsj5OsrSiAK18MS2DA&ved=0CBoQvwUoAQ&q=KidZone+and+Teen+Extreme&spell=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=612209fd001c3172&biw=1264&bih=775@@areas to the adult classes in English and Spanish, Sheldon had plenty of options for people to educate themselves about what police work includes. With the help of approximately 180 volunteers, 70 staff and a year of planning, EPD was able to put together their largest convention to date.
“It’s a gigantic undertaking. Our numbers have been growing every year,” said Sgt. Lisa Barrong@@CE@@, creator of the event. “This year we filled the cafeteria with vendors for the first time.”

Sitting at the Police Commission booth, former officer James Manning Jr.@@CE@@ says he has high hopes for the commission’s first year at the convention.
“We represent the community and we really want people to get involved,” Manning said.
At the EPD Youth Programs booth, convention veteran John Savage@@CE@@, the officer stationed at Sheldon, says this is only part of their outreach work.
“This convention gives people the chance to talk to us without getting pulled over,” Savage said. “Being able to ask us questions when we’re not in work shows people a different side of us.”
Savage is happy to give sheriff stickers to the many kids who stop by his booth or offer a smile for the parent and volunteer chaperones.
This year, Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity had students doing community service hours by volunteering at the event.
University senior Will Cox@@CE@@ was assigned a group of four children, who were a part of the KidZone program, to different police demonstrations.
“We’ve been doing it for a few years,” Cox said. “We’re responsible for the kids.”
Barrong hopes more students from Fraternity and Sorority Life will become involved in future years.
“Sorority and fraternity volunteers are adult enough to be responsible, but young enough to be good with kids,” Barrong said. “It’s been a challenge getting students though, because they’re gone over the summer and then the event is so close to the beginning of the year.”
Cox watches as his kids eagerly ask the bomb squad presenters questions. There is an air of excitement when the controller for the bomb squad robot comes out, and even Cox can’t help but watch the robot grab at air and move around.
“I think it’s important for the kids to know what we do,” Ralph Burks@@CE@@ of the Lane County bomb squad said. “We talk about the team, talk about what the team does, and we get to explain and show a little bit about the equipment.”
Especially for Burks, this is one of the few times he gets to do this kind of close-up demonstration, even if it is only 15 minutes long.
“It’s a short presentation, but we need to inform kids of explosive safety,” Burks said.
The day can be hectic, but EPD has worked hard to make it fun and educational for any age group.
“It’s such a neat thing that we can show how we can work together in the community,” Barrong said. “People are actually learning something at any age.”