Police Will Star in Trading-Card Series

Blitz the German shepherd may not be Ken Griffey Jr., but the Thousand Oaks Police Department is hoping his image has just a little of the major league baseball player’s appeal for local children.

On Monday, the department plans to start giving schoolchildren a series of trading cards depicting its officers in action mode.

Instead of runs batted in or number of homers per season, the cards will feature five police units, explaining what each division does and offering advice to children on how to stay out of trouble.

The cards are part of the department’s anti-drug program for children. Sheriff’s Deputy Patti Dreyer said she hopes the cards will encourage local children to feel comfortable with police officers.

“It’s a way to interact with the kids,” Dreyer said.

Blitz’s card features the dog--tongue hanging out--with its partner, Sgt. Adel Moussa. On the back of the card is a brief explanation of how police dogs are partnered with officers, and an admonition to be careful when patting unfamiliar animals.

Last summer officers handed out Pogs with the department’s seal on them. They got the idea to try baseball cards this year from an officer who saw them being given out in Santa Barbara.

The Oxnard Police Department has been using trading cards of officers since 1992 to enhance its relationships with the community.

Thousand Oaks, which contracts with the county Sheriff’s Department for police services, used a $5,000 donation from Amgen Inc. to pay for printing 5,000 of the cards. Don Bitner, Amgen’s manager of security, said the company made the donation without knowing how it would be used. But he liked the results.

“I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “It’ll give the kids something to look at, and it has the safety precaution on the back.”

Might the cards end up as collector’s items?

“Could be,” Bitner said.