At the Broward Sheriff's Office we are all too familiar with child abuse and neglect. You may have read or watched news coverage of some of the horrible cases that my deputies have investigated recently: a little boy dipped into scalding water and denied medical care for his burns, babies left home alone, men trolling the internet for young sex partners. Child abuse prevention is definitely deserving of a national awareness campaign, but this April in Broward County we intend to broaden the focus. We are calling our campaign Kids Come First. We kicked off the campaign at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, and throughout the month we're planning several special events in conjunction with other agencies and local leaders.
In Pembroke Park, we're celebrating the grand opening of a new PAL gym. PAL stands for the Police Athletic League, a longstanding organization that brings cops and kids together. Our program is going to feature plenty of youth sports activities along with free tutoring to help build strong minds and bodies. For many of the youngsters involved, this PAL gym will be a safe place to play and learn and it's an opportunity for positive interaction between children and the deputy sheriffs involved in the programs. I have to thank the Broward School Board for providing the facility that houses our PAL gym.
We're also teaming up with the Broward School Board to help keep kids safe from bullying. Along with school officials, I'll be meeting with hundreds of 5th graders to talk about bullying and ways to stop it. We are also going to collect lots of letters that local school children have been writing to state legislators in Tallahassee. The letters urge our lawmakers to support anti-bullying legislation and I'll make sure they get delivered to the capital.
We're planning another event showcasing Broward's juvenile fire prevention program, a cooperative effort by BSO's Fire Rescue Division and the Broward Fire Chiefs Association. We've learned that it's a mistake to attribute fires to “a child playing with matches.” Setting fires is not child's play and children who start fires require special attention and intervention. This innovative program is not punitive. It's an educational experience for kids and their families. Participation is often court-ordered for children causing fire damage, but many of the nearly 18,000 participants to date have attended voluntarily. Eighty-five percent of the victims of child-set fires are the children themselves.
You know it really is true – Kids Come First! Preventing child abuse is a priority for all of us all year long and I hope that you will be able to participate in one of the special programs we are planning during the month of April.