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**North Charleston Police Department Wins Trust with Girls Football**
 February 2019 | Volume 12 | Issue 1

“If people play together they learn how to live with each  other,” said North  Charleston (South Carolina) Police Department (NCPD) Chief Reggie Burgess  explaining why he started the department’s powder  puff football league. “We had seen positive results from our Cops  Athletic Program (CAP), which includes basketball and other programs for boys,  and I thought girls should benefit from team sports too.”

The goal was not only to give teenage girls the chance to  build the camaraderie that comes from being on a team but also to encourage the  development of responsibility, self-discipline, and other life skills while  also improving the girls’ relationships with law enforcement.

**Grades, Behavior, and  Relationships Improved**

Asked why he chose football, Chief Burgess said, “We wanted  to engage the girls soon after they got back to school, and it’s a fall sport  that gets them outside. Plus, the girls could share some of the limelight the  boy players get.” So in 2014, he asked area high schools for their help in setting  up a program to be supported and coached by the NCPD officers in partnership  with the teachers and the North Charleston Recreation Department.

The powder puff league was launched soon afterward and now  includes eight high schools, 240 players, and many more fans. In the beginning,  the girls knew little about the game. But their football skills quickly  improved along with their grades, behavior in school, and personal relationships.  At first, the parents were skeptical, but they soon saw the benefits and became  big supporters. “Our relationship with the schools and the community, which  includes Black, Hispanic, and Asian members, has grown and become more positive  as a result.”

**Community Support  When NCPD Needed It Most**

This support was particularly helpful in April 2015, after a  White NCPD officer fatally shot Walter Scott, an unarmed Black man, in the back.  The mood in the North Charleston was tense; on the night of the annual high  school championship review, when teams from all over North Charleston come to  city hall, the building was surrounded by news reporters and protestors  accusing the department of racism.

But despite the hubbub, the city council room became silent as  the powder puff league players, most of them African Americans, marched proudly  down the aisle in their uniforms. “Everybody could see that we had good  relationships with these girls,” said Chief Burgess. “We were telling the press  and community that the shooting was an isolated incident—that most of us are good,  caring people dedicated to the community. The way the girls treated us that  evening and the kind things they said about the NCPD officers showed that. It  was a very emotional ceremony—we had gone through so much, and it really  helped us get through that difficult time.”

**Officers Helped Girls  Go to College**

The individual relationships that have developed also  demonstrate this dedication. One example is that of two very bright players who  aced the college entrance exams but couldn’t afford to attend. NCPD officers  stepped in, helping them fill out scholarship forms and raising funds for books  and other fees. Both girls have stayed close to their coaches, and one is  majoring in criminal justice with the intention of becoming a law enforcement  officer. Other players who have gone to college or into the military also keep  in touch and visit the department when they are home.

“The officers feel like they are family in a way,” says  Chief Burgess. “They really care about these girls and enjoy the league as much  as the players do, maybe more. Powder puff football has been a very positive  program for all of us. It’s a winner for the department, the girls, the  schools, and the community.”

Faye Elkins          Senior Technical Writer 

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