“No one has the right to hurt me” – Upton Police Department holds radKIDS program

Last week 35 children participated in the radKIDS program, a comprehensive safety program for children ages 5-10. The program focuses on providing all children with the choices and practical skills they need to escape violence and/or harm including abduction, bullying, abuse, or sexual assault, by replacing fear and confusion with confidence, knowledge, skills, and self-esteem. The program also teaches internet, home, school and out and about safety.

Certified instructors Sgt. Lisa Vass and Officer Isaiah Poxon, of the Upton Police Department, ran the program.

Upton’s radKIDS were taught how to be safe in a variety of settings and shown several self-defense moves including headbutting, sweep kicking, hammer punches, and eye poking. At the end of the week long program the participants were able to demonstrate the skills they learned.

One safety tip was identifying a trick. For example if someone approached a child and said, “Your Mom is in the hospital and your Dad sent me to get you.” Could this be a trick?  Students were taught to create a password with their parents. If approached with this scenario they would ask, “What’s the password?” If the adult doesn’t know they were taught to scream that’s not my Dad/Mom and run away. They worked on this skill and others with Officer Poxon, who wore protective gear. He approached the children and used various “tricks” to lure them in. The Upton radKIDS knew better and were able to escape or fight off Officer Poxon, the stranger.

Gina Lupachino’s favorite part of the program was learning strikes and kicks. She said she also learned “if you are in trouble in a store you can knock stuff down and make a lot of noise to get attention.”

The children had different reasons why the decided to participate in the program. Ned Cotton said “I wanted to protect my family, have fun, and lose weight.” Anna Greer participated because her friend Susie invited her and said “this is the best camp, you should take it every summer.”

The program was offered at no charge by the Police Department.

Officer Poxon is in need of a new protective suit.The one he was wearing is a miss match of different suits and is meant for a person much smaller than him. The pieces are starting to show signs of wear. If you are interested in making a donation towards a new suit contact the Upton Police Department.