Bismarck Tribune

By JENNYMICBy JENNYMICHAEL

By December, Bismarck kids might be trading their Joe Mauer baseball cards for those of police officers.

For the second time, the Bismarck Police Department is coming out with officer trading cards, said Sgt. Lyle Sinclair.

Sinclair said officers first posed for the cards in 2004. Since then, they have been handing out the cards to citizens across Bismarck.

"What surprised me last time was how many adults asked for them," he said.

Sinclair said the point of the program is to give kids a positive impression of police and to make the officers recognizable to the public.

"A lot of officers give them out to little kids," he said. "It's been a pretty well received program."

Sinclair said 18 officers were planning to get their photographs taken at D'Joyce Image International Friday and Monday.

The department will get sponsors to pay for each officer to have about 1,000 cards printed, Sinclair said. Some of the officers who will get trading cards are the same ones who got them in 2004, he said.

"Most of the people are out of cards," he said.

Other officers weren't involved last time but want to be this year because of the program's success, Sinclair said. He said the idea for the trading cards came from other departments in North Dakota whose canine officers had cards to give out after school presentations.

The cards have a photo of the officer on the front. A brief biography of the officer, a safety tip and contact information for the Bismarck Police Department are on the back of the card. The cards should be ready for release in December, Sinclair said.

Lt. Dan Donlin, who is not getting new trading cards this year, said the cards seem to make an impression on children.

"Kids have come up to me and said, 'I have your card,' " he said.

Sinclair who oversees the K-9 units for the Bismarck Police Department, said he posed with his dog on his 2004 card. He said he doesn't get recognized very often from his card. "They more recognize the dog than me," he said.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)