Barriers Came Tumbling Down By Melissa Leong Toronto, Canada, August 2003: Bullies beat up Joe Prasad when he was a boy. He'd walk home at lunchtime hoping they weren't behind him, dreading their punches. "People get bullied because they have low self-esteem," he says now, reflecting on the experience. Which may be why Prasad spent much of his 37-year policing career working with young people and community groups. "Our leaders and criminals of tomorrow will be the product of who we raise today," says the recently retired Halton Region officer. It's a motto he put into action in many initiatives over the years, earning him an exemplary service medal and a tribute from Chief Ean Algar. While on the force, Prasad, 59, raised money for the Halton police Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program, which sends officers into schools to talk to students. He lined up donations to buy 24 battery-operated vehicles for the Halton Children's Safety Village, which features a scaled-down streetscape that helps teach kids about traffic safety - including a blue-and-white road sign for "J. Prasad Dr." And he helped break down barriers between police and the community through a 1980s drive to introduce community policing. Young people often grow up with an "us against them" attitude toward police, the father of three said while relaxing in his Oakville home. "If you don't stop at a stop sign, we'll charge you," he said, mimicking the stereotypical cop. "If you steal, we'll chase you down and catch you and lock you up." Today's more positive interaction between officers and students is invaluable, Prasad said. "Our high school officers are not in the school to catch the kids doing anything wrong. They're a resource to students, staff, parents and other police officers. Some officers will go on field trips with the kids." In 1992, Prasad set up community committees as a way to bring neighbourhood issues to police once a month. He also put a comment box, labelled "Concerns for the Police," in a local supermarket. Responses included common concerns, such as speeding drivers in areas where children play, cars not stopping at crosswalks and drunk drivers weaving their way home from local bars. Prasad began his career in British Guiana (now Guyana), joining the nation's police force in 1965, working with the juvenile branch in Georgetown. But because of racial and political unrest in the country, he immigrated to Canada in 1970 with his wife and first child. He worked as a supervisor at House of Concord, a boys' probation home, for about a year before joining the Georgetown, Ont., police department. From 1977 through 1986, Prasad worked in the youth and communications bureaus and served as a hostage negotiator. In 1986, he was promoted to sergeant. From 1995 to retirement, he was education services co-ordinator. Prasad laughs a lot, illustrating every story with hand gestures. And he has many stories from his early policing days in Halton. Like the time he locked himself in the back of his own cruiser on a sweltering summer afternoon. Some stories are not as funny. Like when a driver swore at him and called him a "Paki." "This was so rampant," he said. Prasad said he has never experienced prejudice within the police department itself. He acknowledges that police forces might include some racist individuals, but he believes some people just look for racism. "A lot of non-whites, they come here with a preconceived idea that they will be prejudiced against. I have friends who are Guyanese and they tell me that (racism) happens. It's their attitude. They blame their shortcomings on that. "If you look for prejudice, you'll find it," he said. "In life, we have to learn to rise above it."