Chickasha Police Go Undercover To Teach 'Stranger Danger'

Police went undercover and onto the playground of one elementary school Friday.

Police in Chickasha are in the early stages of a program to educate school children about the dangers of predators.

As the buses pull around to pick up kids, a stop sign pops out, and caution lights start flashing. However, on the playground police want to know if students would heed warning signs they've been taught when it comes to strangers.

"We've had an occasional instance here where a pickup pulled up to a bus stop and spoke to a child, and the child got scared and told their parents, and we've had to investigate those things,” Lauren Matthews of the Chickasha Police Department said.

Authorities decided to take a proactive approach to the situation. In an undercover video, you can see an officer walk onto an elementary school playground with a dog, and a group of young girls approach him.

"He keeps asking them if they'll come and help him find his other puppy that got lost. He keeps telling them, ‘It'll be okay. I need you to come help me. I'm not from this area. Can you help me find this puppy?’” Matthews said.

The more he pushes, the more the girls pull away and eventually run to tell their teacher.

The officer continues to make his way across the playground.

"There was a little boy playing by himself, kind of secluded in the very corner of the playground,” Matthews said.

That little boy was Preston. He's in kindergarten, and when the officer approached him with the same story, he took off running.

"I was proud. I was impressed that he was actually hearing the things that we practice, remembering them and putting them to good use at an important time,” Preston’s mother Alicia Spain said.

Police plan on using the video in classrooms to educate students. They will eventually advance the program to include older students, as well.