Sunday, June 25, 2000

Mannequin Officer Fits Right In

The Associated Press
    BROOKVILLE, Pa.   �   She sits there silently, motionless, watching your every move. She monitors intersections, eyeing every vehicle that approaches a stop sign or traffic light.
    And when drivers see her, they immediately brake and stop.
    Officer ''Mary-Mary'' of the Brookville Borough Police has that effect on people.
    Mary-Mary is the newest member of Police Chief Ken Dworek's force. She can't speak a word of English and she can't move her hands or legs.
    Mary-Mary is a mannequin, the same you see every day in store front windows.
    As Dworek explains, she is dressed as a police officer and placed at the wheel of a police cruiser which is parked at one of Brookville's many busy intersections. She gives the appearance of an actual police officer watching for speeders.
    ''We've been cracking down on speeders and this is another way we can get people to slow down and stop for stop signs and red lights,'' Dworek said. ''Drivers see the police car parked and an officer sitting in it, and they immediately slow down and make sure they are in compliance with traffic laws.''
    One day, Officer Mary-Mary was on duty at the parking lot of Blake's Hardware, which borders the busy intersection of Main, Richards and Taylor streets. The following day, she was parked at the lot across Madison Avenue from BiLo.
    ''These are two very busy intersections and we want people to stop. When they see Mary-Mary, they slow down and stop,'' Dworek said. ''She does a good job.''
    The chief said many times the police are just too busy to be constantly monitoring intersections. By using a mannequin, this frees police to do other duties.
    ''The mannequin works. People from town know of it, but people from out of town don't. Everyone slows down, even the people who know of her,'' Dworek said. ''When you approach her from a distance, you can't tell whether she's real.''
    Last weekend was Mary-Mary's first full weekend of duty. She actually made her debut several days before when Dworek used her to help control traffic while a track and field meet was being held at Brookville Area High School.
    ''The school wanted a police officer to be on the scene. We were very busy at the time and couldn't put a real officer there, so I took the mannequin out and put her in place. Her debut was very successful,'' he said.
    Dworek admitted he can't take credit for the idea of using a mannequin.
    ''We did this type of thing 30 years ago when I was with the Pennsylvania State Police,'' he said.
    Dworek doesn't take credit for the moniker.
    ''The school crossing guard was very pleased with her,'' Dworek said. ''When I went to retrieve the mannequin, the guard said, 'Mary-Mary did a great job,' so I gave her that name.''
    Not only is Mary-Mary effective, she also is cost-effective. The mannequin didn't cost the department very much. Dworek scrounged around and finally found one.
    ''I looked around and finally came-up with a body, but it didn't have a head,'' he said. ''Goodwill gave us a head, but it was bald. We used a woman's wig to complete Mary-Mary's wardrobe.''

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