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COUNTYWIDE : Police Give Girls Full Treatment

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The 16 girls who lined up for full beauty treatments at a salon Tuesday got more than just a make-over. They also got a fresh look at the world, police hope.

In a program developed by the Orange County Youth Gang Action Committee, the Santa Ana Police Department treated the girls like young queens for a day, pampering them with beauty treatments and a ride to school in a gleaming white limousine.

The program is designed to expose teen-agers, many from areas rife with gang activity, to positive experiences, said Santa Ana Officer Debbie Velarde-Reyes.

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But the program is not only designed to make the girls feel pampered; it’s also meant to make them feel more at ease with police officers, Velarde-Reyes said.

At the A Cut Abuv beauty shop Tuesday, the girls said they felt good both about themselves and their three police escorts.

“It’s like being a new person,” said Patty Rico, a 16-year-old student at Saddleback High School. “It’s like being someone special. People will see you and you look pretty.”

The girls attend high schools in the Santa Ana school district and were selected by school resource officers or counselors who recognized their desire to try something new.

“I asked them to find someone who could use a morale booster,” Velarde-Reyes said.

Morale was high as the girls waited in line to have their hair colored, cut and styled. In a back room, other girls had their nails filed and polished in pink or red.

When they were done, the girls admired each other’s hairstyles and the warm colors they had chosen for their locks. They each received a rose and were driven back to their schools in a white limousine.

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The girls said they had never been treated so well.

“Sometimes you say to yourself, ‘Well, I don’t even deserve this,’ ” said Esmeralda Flores, 17. “But if it’s for my own good or to make me change, then that will change my life.”

Before-and-after pictures showed marked differences between the girls’ normal looks and their appearances in the styles recommended by cosmetic and hair experts.

“You see them glowing,” said school Resource Officer Denny Pierce, who makes his rounds at Century High School. “These girls feel good. If it doesn’t do anything more than that, it’s a good thing.”

Although Velarde-Reyes doesn’t expect every girl to be changed forever by the experience, she hopes that at the very least they will see police officers in a different way. One girl whose family has had problems told her she might consider becoming a police officer herself.

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