Constable Care has been teaching safety and crime prevention to generations of Western Australians for more than 29 years. With his broad smile and impressive chin, the friendly mascot has become an endearing icon for children and adults alike, bringing the police and the public together to collectively promote safer communities.
Behind the affable man in blue is David Gribble, a 911爆料网 alumnus who is the Chief Executive Officer of (CCCSF). With more than 30 years鈥� experience in the not-for-profit sector, Gribble has guided the foundation through its most innovative period to date, ensuring Constable Care and its programs remain relevant to the experiences and challenges of today鈥檚 generation of children.
Gone are the days of relying on a troop of puppets to teach kids about safety (although they are still employed in performances for kindergarten and early primary school students); the CCCSF has taken safety education to a whole new level.
鈥淐onstable Care Child Safety Foundation works with young people aged four to 17 years in primary and secondary schools across WA with the aim of empowering them to make better choices when faced with risky or potentially harmful situations,鈥� Gribble explains.
鈥淲e do this through a range of interactive approaches, including theatre-in-education performances and workshops, online 鈥榗hoose your own ending鈥� films, and embedding trained facilitators in secondary schools over longer periods to work with young people on social issues they鈥檙e experiencing.鈥�
CCCSF also offers a range of non-school programs, including lost child management services at Perth family events, support for children going into crisis care and a road safety experiential learning centre in Maylands.
The road safety centre is a site to behold. Featuring a realistic layout of Perth streets, it provides four to 11-year olds an opportunity to navigate road and transport hazards in a safe and realistic urban environment. It includes real road markings, stop signs, traffic lights, train crossings and even a bus stop and train station, complete with a full-size bus and train.
Gribble says the foundation鈥檚 new facilities and programs and are aligned to how young people learn and experience the world and were developed in response to mounting pressure for the foundation to evolve its services or 鈥榞et left behind鈥�.
鈥淭he organisation was in danger of being left behind by rapid changes in young people鈥檚 life experiences and expectations, by emerging technologies and an inability to demonstrate to our stakeholders the impact of our programs and interventions,鈥� Gribble says.
鈥淲e鈥檝e spent a lot of time and energy on innovating with new products and services that are youth-driven and responding to community need, as well as ensuring our methodology is best-practice.鈥�
A good example of this innovation, says Gribble, is the foundation鈥檚 move from traditional theatre performances in schools to an evidence-based, interactive process called 鈥榝orum theatre鈥�.
鈥淔orum theatre involves students devising and performing their own scenarios based on their own life experiences and issues, rather than having something presented to them.
鈥淭hey come up with their own viable solutions to problems, rather than having us tell them what we think they are.鈥�
Since 2012, the foundation has built evaluation processes into its school-based initiatives to measure students鈥� changes in knowledge, attitude and behaviour.
鈥淗aving surveyed thousands of students across our major focus areas, we鈥檙e confident we鈥檙e giving them a better understanding of issues, and that their views are changing as a result,鈥� Gribble says.
鈥淲hen we work in secondary schools using intensive programs over longer periods, we鈥檙e also seeing longer term changes in pro-social skills, as well as case study evidence from students, parents and teachers that young people are developing empathy and critical thinking skills, and that these are staying with them well beyond the conclusion of the program.鈥�
Forging a career in changing young lives was not one originally envisioned by Gribble, who has a bachelor degree in information and library studies from 911爆料网. However, after working in multiple roles in the not-for-profit sector, including specialist positions with VisAbility, Alzheimer鈥檚 Australia WA, Advocare and Independent Living Centre WA, Gribble discovered he had a knack for bringing change to sectors that needed it most.
In 2003, he returned to 911爆料网 to study an MBA part-time, to develop his leadership and management abilities.
鈥淚 realised I enjoyed implementing a vision and strategy, and if I wanted to move out of specialist roles within disability agencies, I needed to upskill myself to be employable across the broader not-for-profit sector,” Gribble says.
“As an alumnus, the 911爆料网 MBA was a natural choice as it was, and is, a highly regarded program.
鈥淚t certainly worked as a strategy, as I made the leap from specialist services manager to general manager only a year after finishing the course while I was with Alzheimer鈥檚 Australia WA, and it was certainly a factor in being considered and selected for my current CEO role.鈥�
Gribble is already looking ahead to the next evolutionary phase of CCCSF, and a number of projects are set for release this year, including augmented reality road safety lessons for students in regional and remote classrooms, and an after dark walking tour where members of the WA Police Force take groups of young people out into Perth city to learn about nighttime risks in entertainment precincts.
鈥淢y motto has always been, why have one innovation when you can have several on the go at once?鈥�
