Local law enforcement’s “Arrest the Fear” series underway at WKU

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Local police are hosting a campaign called Arrest the Fear for Western Kentucky University students.

The Arrest the Fear series is being held to educate, expose and equip WKU students with knowledge and understanding of the systematic dynamics of law enforcement.

WKU Police Department, the Bowling Green Police Department and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office will be using this series to teach students about law enforcement, their rights and self-defense.

This workshop will allow students to ask questions like, “When do I have to show an officer my ID?” “When do I have the right to say no?” “Do I have to identify myself?” and “What do I have to have in my car when pulled over,”?

Western Kentucky University Police Officer Tim Gray hopes these sessions will squash some of the fear people may have toward police.

“It shouldn’t be a fearful situation. That’s what we want our students to understand in that situation. Anytime you have an encounter with law enforcement, fear should not be at the forefront of your mind. So we want to ease those tensions so we think having a program like this, having a series over the course of the next month is going to help eliminate many of those fears,” said Gray.

The goal of the workshops is to educate students on the judicial system, the daily operations of law enforcement and equip students with advocacy and self-defense strategies.

“By the end of it, I think our hopes is that, just as the title says, the fears will be arrested. We want those concerns that they have going into those series, we want them to subside. We know that there is still going to be some at the tail end of this series, but our hope is that there will be far less at the end than there are at the beginning,” said Gray.

One of the series’ events is an online forum that will allow students to express their thoughts and feelings and the officers involved will have the chance to listen to those concerns.

The next session will be held in DSU from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.

To find out more about the series, click here.