Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Jay Labrum had one of the most satisfying experiences in his nine-year law enforcement career Thursday. He accepted a national award for a sheriff's office safety program that daily shepherds hundreds of Salt Lake County children home from school.

Operation Safe Passage was recognized with the first-ever "Acts of Caring" award from the National Association of Counties at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The program was started by sheriff's deputies, parents and neighborhood volunteers in 1998 after a string of child abductions and sexual assaults took place in the Salt Lake Valley."I've never seen anything like this in my career and I've been twenty-nine and one-half years with the department,' Labrum said. "We had done things to address safety on school grounds but nothing to deal with the safety of kids who are walking to and from school. I've never seen anything like this, where people have gotten together and worked in such close partnership to make sure something happens."

Deputies from the South Valley patrol substation worked with school officials, Parent Teacher Association members and residents to organize the program. About 450 volunteers now sport green vests and patrol the walking routes in school neighborhoods, keeping an eye on the kids, he said. The program has been funded entirely through volunteer service and donations, he said.

Labrum, who coordinates community policing programs for the sheriff's office, believes it has been effective in warding off potential child-snatchers. And there are residual benefits, such as reducing the amount of jaywalking and other safety shortcuts that can sometimes result in injury accidents.

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"I honestly believe that it's reduced the fear . . . made everyone feel safer," he said. "I also think that it's built a bond between policemen and the community. They talk to us now like neighbors. There's a trust built there."

Labrum has shared the program with other valley police departments and is beginning to get inquiries from departments across the nation.

"We say, take our material and plagiarize it all you want. Make it your own," he said. "As long as it keeps the kids safe. That's all that matters."

You can reach Jennifer Dobner by e-mail at dobner@desnews.com

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