Suburban Cops Featured On New Trading Cards
(CBS) -- You've heard of baseball cards, what about police officer trading cards?
"We have 11 officers who have trading cards, they are like baseball cards and children are encouraged to collect the cards from each member," said Arlington Heights Crime Prevention Officer Brandi Romag, Arlington Heights. "The cards each have the picture of the officer, some are in their special assignments. There's an officer on a motorcycle, one of the officers is using a total station which is for evidence investigation. Everyone is doing stuff that involved the ancillary assignment or a place they are assigned to."
Podcast
Romag says the "Befriend A Badge Program" is a good way to encourage local kids to get to know their hometown police officers and learn about careers.
"They get to see if they want to be a motorcycle officer, or a detective," she said. "Our pictures are on the front and on the back lists our past assignments. It lets the kids get to know us as not just police but know our interests and our hobbies and we also have messages to the kids, a little advice on the cards."
The "Befriend A Badge" program will also work like a scavenger hunt. Officers will attend various events throughout Arlington Heights and trading card officers will have special magnets on their squad cars so children can identify them.
"It's a great way to interact with the kids," she said. "It's fun."
The first trading card signing event will be sponsored by McDonald's at 15 E. Dundee Road on Saturday, November 21, 2015, from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Future event signings will be announced via the Arlington Heights Police Department's Facebook and Twitter pages and on the Citizen Observer Alert Network.
Children that collect a complete set of eleven cards are eligible to win a prize. Children that collect a complete set of autographed cards are eligible for the grand prize drawing. The contest is ongoing throughout the year.
