The goal is to have 29 centers, one in each police sector. It's turning kids' lives around. As a result we have seen crime around the PAL centers drop. In addition to providing constructive activities for youth, PAL centers foster positive relationships with police. Each PAL center has at least one full-time police officer assigned to it.
Some centers have two officers.
City youth can interact daily with these officers, who organize after-school activities and oversee operations. A community service officer in each center serves as a support person, but centers rely heavily on volunteers from the neighborhood. The program encourages scouts to learn about prevention and self-protection and urges them to work with local law enforcement agencies to find out what they can do to fight crime and carry out crime prevention projects in their communities. The national BSA, with support from the National Crime Prevention Council, established the requirements for earning a Crime Prevention Award and provided program kits for all scouting levels to more than 135,000 units. The kit lists some grim crime statistics and causes of crime, followed by suggestions of how to reduce crime in communities, including educating others about self-protection, forming community action groups, and increasing awareness about drug and alcohol abuse.