LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Happy High-Five Friday.

 

Police throughout Massachusetts on Friday stood outside of their local elementary schools waiting for children to arrive. Once the children piled off the bus, the officers were there greeting them with high-fives to start their day. 

 

"It gives the community something. It lets them know we are interested in their kids and they can be comfortable with us," Chief Timothy Sorrell said, who was joined with four other officers are Lanesborough Elementary School on Friday morning. 

 

"We try to be up here every morning when we can for the kids when they get off the school bus. It is just to let the kids know that the cops are real people and care about them."

 

Lanesborough Police officers said they try to go to the school in the morning anyway. But, Sorrell recently got an email from Yarmouth Police Chief Frank Frederickson asking other departments statewide to participate. Pittsfield Police got the same invitation and launched their own "High-Five Friday" program with officers at the elementary schools there.

 

The idea did face opposition in Northampton, where it began after a International Association of Chiefs of Police conference presented the idea. Police there had started the tradition of going to schools on Friday for high-fives but some parents objected to it. The objections were that some students could feel uncomfortable with the police presence. 

 

Northampton Police decided in late February to cut the program.

 

"While we received a lot of support on social media, we also heard a few concerns about the program. Chief [Jody] Kasper was invited to attend a school committee meeting to explain the program and to field questions. During that meeting, a concern was raised that not all kids may feel comfortable with a police presence at the beginning of their school day. Others questioned the long-term impacts of the program and wondered if it was truly valuable. Shortly after the meeting, NPD was asked to pause the program, which we did," Northampton Police wrote in a Facebook post.

 

"Chief Kasper was then invited to attend a followup meeting with members of the public to discuss High Five Fridays. About 12-15 people attended the meeting. Concerns were shared that some kids might respond negatively to a group of uniformed officers at their school. People were specifically concerned about kids of color, undocumented children, or any children who may have had negative experiences with the police. After the meeting, Chief Kasper and Superintendent Provost spoke and decided to stop the High Five Friday, but they remain committed to exploring alternative programs."

 

Other departments, however, still see the benefit in the program, according to the letter sent out by Yarmouth Chief Frederickson,

 

"This is an outstanding opportunity to have positive engagement with the youth in our community. High Five Friday fits perfectly with recommendations by the 'President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing," Frederickson wrote. 

 

The program, in Frederickson's eyes, builds trust, reduces fear of officers, creates a positive interaction with the children, fosters positive relationships, gains a greater sense of friendship between faculty, students and parents, and helps officers be viewed as guardians and a part of the community.

 

In Pittsfield, Police Chief Michael Wynn extended Frederickson's invitation locally.

 

"Recognizing that Pittsfield utilized a comprehensive and collaborative approach to public safety, Chief Michael Wynn extends an invitation to participate to agencies beyond the Pittsfield Police Department. The organizations have been invited include the Pittsfield Fire Department, Berkshire County Sheriff's Office, Massachusetts State Police, County Ambulance Services, Action Ambulance,the Berkshire County Chapter of the NAACP, ManUp, and St. John’s Lodge. Additionally, we have passed the invitation on to all of our other Berkshire County law enforcement partners," Pittsfield Police wrote in a Facebook post.

 

Lanesborough and Pittsfield were just two of numerous communities across the state to participate on Friday.