Burlington PD Holding Defense Courses for High School Girls

The following is a news release:

Police Chief Michael Kent announces that the officers of the Burlington Police Department are teaching young women at Burlington High School about personal safety and self-defense, with free courses all this week.

“The Burlington Police Department is committed to the safety and personal security of our women and men of all ages, and that's why we offer these free classes every year,” Chief Kent said.

“Preventing sex crime and preventing violence against women are two issues that are near and dear to our hearts,” said Detective Browne, who serves as the department's Domestic Violence Officer and Sex Crime Investigator. “We hope that our high school students, many of whom are months away from moving away from home for the first time to go to college, will learn valuable safety skills that we hope they never have to use.”

R.A.D. is a personal safety and self-defense program that emphasizes strategies to stay out of danger and teaches realistic self-defense tactics to escape an attacker. The program culminates in a simulation class where officers in protective suits conduct simulated assaults on students who are also outfitted with safety gear. The students get to practice using techniques learned during the program in a high stress environment that is as realistic as is safely possible.

The Burlington Police Department started the program under a federal grant to combat domestic violence in 2005. As grant funding has dropped nationwide, the program is now assisted by gifts and grants from Oracle Corporation and the Lahey Clinic.

The Burlington Police Department also offers similar safety program for children up to age 12, (RADKids) Senior Citizens, (R.A.D. for Seniors) and for adult men (R.A.D. for Men) – R.A.D. in these cases stands for Resisting Aggression Defensively. 

For more information on the programs R.A.D. offers visit their website: http://www.rad-systems.com/

If you are interested in taking a future class please contact Detective Anne-Marie Browne abrowne@bpd.org or Lieutenant Glen Mills gamills@bpd.org.