E-burg Cop Gives Time & TrainIng To Keep Kids Safe On Their Own
Going above and beyond for female students puts an Ellensburg top cop in the Hall of Fame.
We send our children off to college to learn about things like math, history, statistics and life ...but these statistics about life on campus are appalling and unacceptable.
Sexual Violence On Campus Is Pervasive
According to a study on campus sexual violence:
13% of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (among all graduate and undergraduate students).2
Among graduate and professional students, 9.7% of females and 2.5% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.2
Among undergraduate students, 26.4% of females and 6.8% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.2
5.8% of students have experienced stalking since entering college.2
CWU Takes A Proactive Approach
How can that be? What can be done? Is anyone trying to help prevent this? The answer of course is yes, people are trying to help but one man, in particular, has been recognized for his efforts and that man is Chief Jason Berthon-Koch of the Central Washington University (CWU) Police.
The international Rape, Aggression, Defense (R.A.D.) Systems organization has named CWU's chief to the R.A.D. Hall of Fame for his 19 years of service as an instructor and instructor-trainer. Berthon-Kochsays the R.A.D. Systems can best be described as a women’s empowerment course teaching females of all ages that they have the power to take control of any situation with confidence.
Chief Jason Berthon-Koch joins a prestigious group of program veterans around the world who have dedicated themselves to teaching women situational awareness skills and self-defense techniques that are designed to keep them safe.
Chief Berthon-Koch:
It feels really good to be recognized by an organization like R.A.D. that I have developed so much respect for over the years...Being individually recognized for this work means a lot, but this award would not be possible without the commitment and dedication to this training by my fellow CWU police officers. The program wouldn’t be what it is without their assistance and their drive.
“Self-defense is 90% education.”
As a young officer with the CWU Police in 2003, Berthon-Koch looked for a program that would allow him to support members of his community—especially students when the police weren't present-- in a different way than his day-to-day work. He went on to become an instructor-trainer in 2012 and has gone on to work with more than 500 instructors around the state since that time.
Practical Applications
The training course starts with an educational discussion that includes risk-reduction strategies, that explore different scenarios of risk reduction, such as what to do when you’re home alone and there’s a knock at the door, or what you should do if you’re alone on the highway and your car breaks down.
Through his work with R.A.D., Berthon-Koch has earned the admiration of thousands of CWU and Ellensburg community members over the years. Now, he has been formally recognized by his colleagues around the US and the world.
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