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### **Police Youth Programs:            Much More than Fun and Games**

March 2020 | Volume 13 | Issue 3

It wouldn’t come as news to anybody in law enforcement that  many kids, especially those from disadvantaged communities, don’t trust cops. Or  that young people who lack good role models and guidance make bad choices, sometimes  leading to criminal behavior.  

 For this very reason, volunteers from police and sheriff’s  departments across the country are stepping up to provide the role models and  mentoring these young adults need, changing lives in many cases and improving  public safety at the same time. Some of the programs they’ve developed are new  to the field, and others have been around for a while, but all are replicable  to one degree or another, and all have shown promise.

 The COPS Office has been involved with many of these  efforts, which range from summer camps to arts programs. Below are a sampling  of those we have supported with grant funding, which may inspire other  departments to create their own programs. 

#####  Coaching and Mentoring

 Among the most widespread are the **Police Athletics/Activities Leagues (PALs),** which promote the prevention of  juvenile crime by building relationships through engagement in sports, outdoor  activities, education, and the arts, with activities ranging from football to  cooking, lacrosse to leadership development. The **National  Association of Police Athletic Leagues (NPAL)** will help train and  provide technical assistance for agencies wishing to start new PAL programs,  including a “How to Start a PAL Program’ toolkit and resources list funded by  the COPS Office. You can read more about PAL in Five Reasons to Start a PAL Chapter in Your Community in this month’s *Dispatch*.

 Another popular program is **Badges for Baseball,**created by the Cal Ripken Sr.  Foundation with the support of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and  Delinquency Prevention. Badges for Baseball partners with law enforcement  agencies, schools, and youth organizations to pair at-risk youth with mentors  who use team sports to teach important life lessons and help kids build resilience,  avoid drugs, and cope with other challenges.

 The COPS Office also supports **Dream CourtTM** sites and the programs  they host. Founded by Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, the 65 Dream  Courts across the country offer opportunities for officers to build  relationships with young people through free play, tournaments, Special  Olympics Day, and other activities that encourage team work and fair play.  Reports from Dream Court sites say that school attendance has improved and youth  involvement with criminal activity been reduced.

 A fun program that reduces serious problems is**Operation Recess**, created with help  from the Hopkins Minnesota Police  Department (HPD) and funded by a grant from the COPS Office. Officers wearing  program-branded tee shirts play with kids at recess, providing guidance and a  feeling of safety to the schoolyard. Developed in response to studies  indicating that many problems stem from incidents on the playground, the  program promotes cooperative problem-solving behavior and bullying intervention  techniques. 

#####  Developing Tribal  Leaders 

 To foster a new generation of Native law enforcement  leaders and strengthen bonds with young people in their community, the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho  collaborated with its tribal police department to create the **Indian Youth Explorer’s Police Academy (IYEPA)**.

 Funded with the support of a COPS Office microgrant, IYEPA  is a sleep-away camp where young people, including non-Natives, learn police  procedures, while also engaging in sports and other outdoor activities,  including tipi building. Designed to encourage character development, physical  fitness, good citizenship and patriotism, the IYEPA activities and classes  incorporate many components of Police Academy training.

 The **Tribal Youth Police  Academy (TYPA)** of the National Criminal Justice Training Center of  Fox Valley Technical College is a similar program, begun to encourage native  youth to consider careers in law enforcement. In addition to police procedures  and tribal law, the participants benefit from leadership development, public  speaking practice, and confidence-building team exercises. 

#####  Acting Out to End  Misunderstanding

 Some children are better reached and motivated through  art, drama, or music programs, which can provide a way to work out negative  feelings in a safe manner, as well as a forum for discussion of important  issues. 

**The West Side Story Project  (WSSP)** is one such program. Begun as a collaborative effort by the Seattle Police Department (SPD),  local schools, and Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theater, this program brings students together with  police officers to see the film or play *West Side Story* and discuss the issues it dramatizes 

 The COPS Office–funded WSSP  toolkit facilitates the program’s discussion groups, in which students and  officers talk about the issues dramatized in the movie or play: youth violence,  peer pressure, gangs, fitting in, youth-police relations, immigration, and  racial and ethnic differences, among others.

#####  Targeting Serious  Problems

Other COPS supported programs target specific problems.  Among them are the Allen County,  Kentucky Sheriff’s Department’s **Allen  County Cares, Reducing Youth Opiate Use program.**

 A collaborative effort that includes the County Attorney,  local schools, the Scottsville Faith Coalition, and other stakeholders, it  educates children, teens and their families about the dangers of opioid and  other substance abuse. Among the program’s activities are a three-day course  for high school freshman about the consequences of alcohol and drug abuse, with  presentations by law enforcement, project partners, and former substance  abusers

 To break the juvenile-detention-to-prison pipeline in  their city, the **Tacoma Washington Police  Department’s (TPD)**Juvenile Unit implemented the******IF Project****,**named  after the question “what if,” which haunts many individuals whose bad decisions  led to jail**.**TPD’s IF Project  brought schools, juvenile court, and mental health providers together with ex-offenders,  young people, and their families to help these children get onto the right path.  In addition to mentoring, at risk kids received needed social services, and officers  helped their parents or guardians in efforts to strengthen family support.****Since it began in 2012, 64 percent of  the young people in the program have not offended or reoffended.****

 A unique program is **STOP (Students  Taking On Prevention) the Violence**, a program  that empowers young people with the skills and resources to reduce youth  violence themselves. Begun by the **Family, Career and Community Leaders of  America (FCCLA**) in partnership with the COPS Office, it’s a community-based  training curriculum that teaches young people how to educate their peers about  violence prevention, collaborate with school and community resources to address  problems, and develop projects to reduce violence in their schools. 

#####  Benefitting the  Kids, Officers, and Community

 These is just a sampling of the many programs supported by  the COPS Office. In addition to numerous others we have been involved with, there  are successful programs sponsored by other government agencies. 

 All that build relationships of trust and provide guidance  are of great value in helping our young people get onto the right path in life.  In addition to saving them from the consequences of criminal behavior, these  programs can go a long way toward reducing crime in the community. 

 Moreover, officers who participate say they enjoy the  activities and get a good feeling from the bonds they develop with the young  people. They also benefit by learning more about the home lives and challenges  these kids face, resulting in a more compassionate and nuanced approach to them  as a group. 

 Faye Elkins          Senior Technical Writer

          For more information, see:
          - **Creative  Partnerships: Supporting Youth, Building Communities** 
          - **Teen  Action Toolkit: Building a Youth-led Response to Teen Victimization**
          - **Tribal  Youth Leadership** 
          - **Combatting  Youth Violence in American Cities: Programs and Partnerships in 30 Cities** 

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