'High Five Friday' Builds Relationships Between Police, Students
WALPOLE (CBS) – Several schools across Massachusetts gave students a different type of welcome for "High Five Friday."
The kids found police officers offering up high fives on their way to class in the morning.
It's #HighFiveFriday! #Walpole Police Chief high fives students at Bird Middle School, greeting them as they start their day. #wbz #wbznews pic.twitter.com/5nD5NS6VwE
— Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) March 24, 2017
It's a form of community outreach – officers are literally reaching out to young people in order to create positive interactions and foster a sense of security and friendship.
Guess what time it is at Bird Middle in #Walpole!! @WalpoleChief #HighFiveFriday @cbsboston pic.twitter.com/mXUGYKfiCO
— Nick Giovanni (@NickGNews) March 24, 2017
Towns participating on Friday included Yarmouth, Duxbury, Lakeville and Walpole.
Students @ Bird Middle School in #Walpole get high fives from police as they enter school. #HighFiveFriday #wbz #wbznews pic.twitter.com/XTP49PVwjs
— Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) March 24, 2017
"We want to break that stigma of when the police show up something wrong is going on," said John Thayer of the Walpole police. "We want to be there for the kids."
"I think it's a really cool thing to do," one student told WBZ-TV.
This was a weekly tradition for the Northhampton Police Department, but it was discontinued after some parents expressed concern that the high fives from police were making some students uncomfortable.