January 31, 2001

Constable Richard Daypuk Gives Students A Taste of Reality During Presentation At St.Anne School

StAnne.jpg (30830 bytes)Over 200 Grade 7 and 8 students from St. Anne School in Hanmer were given a real lesson in reality recently when Constable Richard Daypuk, of the Sudbury Regional Police Department conducted a special seminar at the school. 

Constable Daypuk worked for ten years as a bailiff at the Sudbury Court House prior to moving over to the community services branch of the Sudbury Regional Police Department, so he has seen his share of people in trouble with the law. In fact, Daypuk, explained that in those ten years at the Court House he saw over 20,000 prisoners go through the system...with about half of the total being young offenders!

He explained to the children that they were no longer boys and girls, but rather men and women in the eyes of the legal system. What they once thought of as childish pranks are now defined as criminal acts under the law. Simple things like being involved in a school yard fight; taking someone’s pencil; constantly harassing a fellow student; and, verbally threatening someone; are all examples of situations for which a person could now find him/herself cuffed and taken off in a police car to headquarters.

“Many kids think that crime is a joke until they realize just how serious it is,” explained Daypuk. “If you hit another person with the intent to hurt that person, you could find yourself arrested and appearing in front of a judge. Furthermore, a criminal conviction as a young offender will stay with you until you are free of further convictions for five consecutive years. It does not disappear at the age of 18 unless you have been out of trouble for five years.”

Daypuk continued, “You are all at an age where the baby excuses have to go! What you do now may affect you for the rest of your life. Most jobs you apply for today, especially any jobs that involve working with children or in a position of trust and confidence, demand a criminal check on all applicants. Do you really think you will be hired if an employer finds out that you have a criminal conviction? Do you really think you will be allowed to coach a hockey team if you have a criminal record?”

Constable Daypuk pointed out that the lack of respect for authority among young offenders is one of the most disturbing things he has noticed since being on the police force.

“I dealt with over 4000 prisoners a year at the court house. Half of those were young offenders. And I tell you that the young offenders were the most disrespectful, in general, of all prisoners,” he exclaimed. “I recall one day when I had to escort two members of the Hell’s Angels from the jail to the court house by myself. These two were huge men who could have broken me in half without batting an eye. I was really worried about what might happen if they decided that they didn’t wish to cooperate. After they were sentenced by the judge and I had to bring them back to the jail, one of them turned to me and asked, “Where would you like me to go now, sir?” This is the kind of respect that many hardened criminals give to people in authority. But when I have to handle young offenders, many of them are rude, defiant, full of foul language and are constantly doing things to make matters worse for themselves.”

“Show a little respect for yourself and for others and it will take you a long way,” advised Constable Daypuk. “Take for instance if I have two people in the jail cell and they both want to make a phone call to their lawyer. One of the prisoners demands that I let him make the phone call, calling me all sorts of obscene names while shouting out the orders. The other prisoner asks me politely if I would please let him make a phone call to his lawyer to get some information. Who do you think is going to be allowed to make the first phone call?”

Daypuk made it clear that the ‘zero-tolerance’ philosophy being adopted by schools and businesses will make it all the more important for young people to make the proper decisions now. It is not worth getting in trouble for something stupid if it will affect you for the rest of your life. There is no such thing as not knowing the law. If in doubt, find out!

Constable Daypuk conducted four separate seminars so that each group could be kept as small in numbers as possible, thus allowing for more of the students to ask questions. He was very well received by the students who expressed their gratitude for him taking the time to clarify their rights and responsibilities as young adults.

 
 

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