I received an e-mail from Sonia Slaughter of the Public Defender's Office about a program the office offers that is line with our crime prevention efforts. We in Miami-Dade are blessed with many educational programs that help our community and this is one of them. I hope you find the following information useful:

Miami-Dade County Public Defender Bennett H. Brummer has always viewed the role of his office as being much broader than representing clients in court. While criminal defense will always be the office's main focus and constitutional responsibility, Brummer has long been a leading advocate for prevention, therapy, rehabilitation and public safety.

That was the motivation a decade ago for the creation of his Anti-Violence Initiative (AVI), a multifaceted approach based on working with other government agencies and community organizations to focus on effective prevention, intervention and educational programs.

Brummer also continues to encourage all law enforcement agencies in the county to establish Crisis Intervention Teams, as the city of Miami has done, to reduce injuries to police officers and people with mental health problems.

''Humanitarian and public safety aspects aside,'' says Brummer, ``AVI makes good financial sense; prevention is clearly less expensive than the alternatives. Paying attention to problems up-front certainly beats paying a higher price later in terms of higher crime rates, human suffering, court procedures, incarceration and recidivism.''

One AVI program that has taken on increasing urgency over the years -- and is very much in line with Neighborhood Crime Watch's philosophy of protecting both officers and residents -- is called Play It Smart. The intention of Play It Smart presentations is to keep young people from being arrested in the first place or, at the very least, to keep encounters with law enforcement from escalating to the extent that injuries are sustained and additional charges filed.

Brummer's staff has developed a Play It Smart guide and presentation packed with useful information for all of us but especially for teenagers. The guide explains how to interact with police. It outlines constitutional rights as well as shows young people how best to convey the message to the officer that they pose no physical threat.

For example, Play It Smart explains that, when approached or questioned by police, a teen has the right to remain silent, may ask for a lawyer to be present and may request that the police contact his parents so they can be present for the questioning. At the same time, it emphasizes respect and explains that, by answering simple questions about their name, address and school, youngsters are demonstrating that they respect the police and are trying to be cooperative.

For more information about Play It Smart or to schedule a presentation at your school or community event by representatives of the Public Defender's Office, call 305-545-1898. For more information about the Public Defender's Office, log on to www.pdmiami.com. Details about the AVI and other initiatives can be found under Community Involvement.

Last week's article regarding a teacher's personal experience as a victim of bullying brought many e-mails and I thank you for your responses.

It's amazing how many of you out there suffered some of the same experiences. Fortunately, nowadays we have avenues we can take and I sincerely hope that you as parents will take the necessary steps to prevent and protect your children from being a victim of bullying. We are here to help, if we can.

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