SOUTHWICK – The Southwick Police Department is set to bring in 2017 with a program from the past. A program that hasn’t been active since 2009, Chief David Ricardi announced that the R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) program will be back in the community.
R.A.D. is a physical defense program that helps empower women and allows them to gain options for self-defense when they are in a situation that makes them a viable target for being attacked.
Ever since Ricardi became Police Chief in 2013 he has tried to bring the R.A.D. program back but a lack of availability for instructor development courses has been the major reason why the program hasn’t been available to the community. The courses aren’t always available in every state every year.
After being able to get funding from the Select Board in town, Chief Ricardi was able to send three Southwick Police officer’s to the Instructor Development Course this year held at Becker College in Leicester, Mass.
Officer’s Roger Arduini, Ernest Malone, and David Massai were able to go to the course and they will be running the R.A.D. program. Lieutenant Kevin Bishop was the prior instructor when the program was last offered, so he will be overseeing it again this time around.
Lt. Kevin Bishop will be overseeing the R.A.D. program. (WNG File Photo)
It is safe to say that the police officers in the department that will be involved with the program are looking forward to its return.
“I am very happy that R.A.D. is returning to Southwick,” said Bishop. “We’re really looking forward to it, we’re looking to do as well as Lt. Bishop did,” said Massai.
The women who take the course will go through a physical training that will consist of defensive tactics like voice commands, strikes, and kicks.
After rounds of training, the women will then be put through a simulated scenario outside of the classroom where they will be in a realistic environment with a live attacker.
Massai also mentioned that he and the officers will give women options on how to obtain a restraining order and emphasizing the importance of going to the police station and talking with an officer if needed.
“It’s more than just the R.A.D. training,” said Massai. “It’s allowing these women to feel that the police department is looking in their best interest.”
A free program, R.A.D. will be offered a minimum of two times this upcoming year the first of them starting in January. The class will run every Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m for five weeks beginning Tuesday January 10 at the Southwick Town Hall. The class size will start with a maximum of 10 women.
According to Bishop, only 10 women in the class will allow there to be more comfortability between the officers and the participants. But, as the program moves forward in 2017, the class sizes will increase.
The R.A.D. program is for women that are 16 years and older. Interested individuals can pick up an application at the Southwick Police Department lobby or by contacting Massai at 413-569-5348, ext. 521 or email [email protected].
