Students Revamp Police Department's 'Billy Badge' Program

JOHNS CREEK, GA — As part of the Student Leadership Johns Creek program, Centennial High School students took on the task of refreshing the Billy Badge community program for the Johns Creek Police Department. The updated program features a new costume for the Billy Badge character, coloring books for children and a new tab just for parents with updated resources to reinforce safety with children.

Who is Billy Badge? It may help to first remember McGruff the Crime Dog — an icon of the 1980’s. Children across the nation helped “take a bite out of crime” with McGruff, who taught school children about safety procedures and what to do in the event of an emergency. McGruff appeared in numerous campaigns, providing Americans with "common-sense steps to reduce crime," the National Crime Prevention Council said.

McGruff continued his push for safety, and the character turned 30 years old in 2010. To keep up with the changing times, Johns Creek police and Leadership Johns Creek in 2012 rolled out Billy Badge, their 21st century version of McGruff (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here).

In the early days, Billy appeared at community events and schools, educating children about emergency situations and when to call 911. Unfortunately, over time Billy Badge's costume fell into disrepair and his appearances at local schools became few and far between.

Enter Student Leadership Johns Creek, a program designed to pass down Leadership Johns Creek's passion for community engagement to high-school students. The Billy Badge project was gladly taken on by the Centennial High School team. The group collaborated in the school’s innovative Maker Space to overhaul the website to include all things safety, including games for children and safety tips for parents.

“I really believe in Billy Badge, and I hope that he will be able to help kids stay safe," Centennial student Rane Hill said.

Billy Badge has officially been reinstated, so be sure to keep an eye out for him at school and community events. You can visit the newly redesigned Billy Badge website by clicking here. You can learn more about Student Leadership Johns Creek by contacting Executive Director Irene Sanders at sanders@leadershipjohnscreek.com or 404-406-0480. You can also visit SLJC's website for details about the organization.

Photo 1: the new Billy Badge is back at the Johns Creek Police Department

Photo 2: Lieutenant Paul Michaud commends the work of the CHS Student Leadership Johns Creek team. Pictured left to right: Centennial High School students Max Lucas, Rane Hill, Elijah Medwed, Lieutenant Paul Michaud of the JCPD, Corey Braun (transferred to Milton High School), and Madison Bryant. Not pictured is Centennial High School student Sumir Nemani.i.

Photo 3: Centennial High School students use the school’s Maker Space to revamp the Billy Badge website. Pictured left to right: Max Lucas, Rane Hill, Madison Bryant and Sumir Nemani.

Photo 4: Centennial student Rane Hill checks the new Billy Badge logo in the school’s SPaCE (Shared Personalized and Creative Experience), housed inside the Learning Commons.

Credits: Centennial High School/Student Leadership Johns Creek