St John officers make it as real as possible in a crash scenario. Photo/Stuart Munro
St John officers make it as real as possible in a crash scenario. Photo/Stuart Munro
Doing the same thing and getting the same result isn't working for a group of Whanganui lawbreakers.
But learning skills and acknowledging consequences just might change the pattern.
On Saturday at St Mary's Church in Guyton St, 59 people doing community work were taken through a number of scenarios byvarious groups who taught new skills and the reasons behind rules and regulations.
Many of the participants were recidivist offenders, including some with drink driving convictions.
Making presentations and answering questions were the Fire Service, which dealt with putting out kitchen fires; St John's, which showed basic CPR techniques on children and babies; Plunket demonstrated how to fit a car restraint properly; and Whanganui District Health Board representatives described the long-term effects of alcohol abuse on the body.
The sessions are organised by Horizons Regional Council and the Department of Corrections and run by Roadsafe Co-ordinator Whanganui, Ruapehu and Rangitikei Glenda Leitao.
The DVD Just Another Saturday Night was also shown. It chronicles a car accident in Hastings several years ago which resulted in the death of two people. Another person was left a tetraplegic and a fourth had a serious brain injury.
Ms Leitao said the sessions were about the outcome of offenders' actions, on themselves and their families.
