Bates safety and security teach area kids self-defense

Three members of the Bates College Office of Security and Campus Safety are teaching a program of self-defense to area 5 to 7 year olds and their parents at Smart Start Developmental Child Care Center in Auburn from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. through Feb. 25.

Paul Menice, crime prevention coordinator at Bates, and security officers Christine Cuevas and Rick Gilbert are teaching participants how to recognize an emergency, how to contact a 911 dispatcher, how to communicate life-saving information to a dispatcher, how to use verbal and physical resistance against an assailant and how to identify potential assailants.

“We hope to raise awareness about safety and crime prevention to reduce the possibility that children will become victims,” Menice said. “We also hope to increase self-confidence in the children and to improve communication about safety and crime prevention between parents and their children.”

For more information on the Bates crime-prevention program at Smart Start Developmental Child Care Center, call the Bates College Office of Security and Campus Safety at 207-786-6254.