The Police in the Community

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The Police in the Community

• Chapter 14
• Focus on Youths

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Objectives

• To discuss the importance of youth in community
  policing
• To discuss some strategies for building positive
  relationships between police and youths
• To look at strategies aimed at engaging youths in
  community police efforts
• To look at the importance of involving parents in
  community police efforts to prevent delinquency
  and violence

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Objectives Cont..

• To look at the role of the school in developing
  healthy growth and development
• To look at the problem of violence in the schools
• To look at intervention and the problem of gangs
  in the school and the community

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Youths and Community Policing

• Much research has been done in the way of
  community policing
• One important segment which is our children and
  teenagers has been overlooked when implementing a
  community police philosophy
• A focus group for interview to collect
  information about attitudes and perceptions of
  the police by teenagers was done 90 miles away in
  East Athens, Georgia

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Youths and Community Policing Cont.

• The results were that kids and their friends were
  having infrequent, impersonal, and negative
  interactions with the police
• That there was a lack of knowledge with the
  police or community policing
• There was a lack of respect for the East Athens
  community and its citizens by the police

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Youths and Community Policing Cont.

• There was also the problem of the community being
  passive and not wanting to assist the police for
  fear of retribution by other citizens
• Passivity can undermine policing initiatives
• To counteract negative perceptions of police held
  by children and youths there must be programs
  aimed at fostering positive relationships

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Building Personal Relationships

• Departments have had to introduce programs to
  allow police and children to become better
  acquainted
• Brown Baggin with the Blues is a program where
  police and youths have lunch together
• Kops and Kids endorsed by IACP which brings
  children together with the police to have fun
• Adopt an Officer is a program ran by the
  Greeley Colorado PD and the LaGrange Park Ill PD
  whereas volunteer officers are adopted by school
  children and they share meals, write letters,
  and visit the police station

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Building Personal Relationships Cont..

• Shop with a Cop is designed to make the
  Christmas season happy for abused, neglected and
  disadvantaged children
• Over 100 officers with Las Vegas PD take these
  kids on a shopping spree at a local K-Mart. The
  money is donated by local merchants and each kid
  receives about 75

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Youth Development Approach

• With this technique communities focus on what
  they want from their youth rather than the
  behaviors they would like to prevent
• They focus on the positive and not negative
• The focus is on the great majority of good kids
  instead of a few bad ones

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Youth Development Approach Cont..

• By identifying what they want for young children
  a plan can then be developed to provide a wide
  range of services and opportunities to help the
  young cope and get through life
• This also helps the youths feel that they are
  part of the process by drawing in their talents

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The Developmental Asset Approach

• The goal is to establish 40 ideas, experiences
  and qualities that help children make wise
  decisions, choose positive paths, and grow up
  competent caring and responsible

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The Developmental Asset Approach Cont..

• This approach promotes
• Support
• Empowerment
• Boundaries and expectations
• Constructive use of time
• Commitment to learning
• Positive Values
• Social Competence
• Positive identity to help kids succeed in school
  and life

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The Developmental Asset Approach Cont..

• Parents, guardians, grandparents, teachers,
  coaches, friends, youth workers, employers, and
  volunteers can help children build these assets
• A survey of 100,000 kids revealed that the more
  assets a person has the less likely they are to
  engage in alcohol use, illegal drugs, sexual
  activity and violence
• Also there is increased correlation with success
  in school, value of diversity, maintenance of
  good health and delay of gratification

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Youth-Focused Community Policing

• This is a US Dept of Justice initiative to combat
  the rising crime rates
• It focuses on prevention, intervention and
  enforcement

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Involving Youths in Violence Prevention

• The National Crime Prevention Council recommends
  that youths be involved in carrying out
  strategies to prevent violence in the communities
• To make the youth a part of effort produces many
  positive things

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Involving Youths in Violence Prevention Cont..

• Youths can play a big role in
• planning coalitions
• Mediating conflicts in schools and the community
• Counsel peers
• Organize neighborhood anti-drug events

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The Importance of Parental Involvement

• The OJJDP suggests that violent acts are less
  likely to be committed by youth who have adult
  supervision after school
• That strong parental attachments to consistently
  disciplined children in watchful supportive
  communities works best against street crime
  violence

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The Importance of Parental Involvement Cont..

• There are programs to assist parents in changing
  the destructive behavior of their children.
• Parents learn prevention and intervention
  strategies for behaviors such as truancy,
  alcohol,and other drug use, running away and
  violence and suicide

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The Importance of Parental Involvement Cont..

• In 33 states
• Local judges can require parents to pay
  restitution
• City councils have designed late night curfews,
  truancy, graffiti, gang enforcement and gun
  ordinances that impose penalties and possible
  arrests for parents
• In other words the ordinances impose a system of
  graduated sanctions against the child and the
  parents

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Schools and the Community

• An education is the way to a fulfilling and
  productive life
• We cannot allow fears that originate by bullying,
  gangs, weapons, and substance abuse disrupt any
  childs journey towards a better tomorrow

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Schools Cont..

• A school should be viewed as a community and not
  an institution
• The school should collectively involve parents,
  teachers, police, and stakeholders of the
  community to teach students about the dangers of
  crime

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Schools Cont..

• Research suggests that students academic
  motivation, commitment to democratic values and
  resistance to problem behaviors all depend on
  their experience of the school as a community
• It is a fact that parents who are connected to
  the school both inside and outside have more
  successful children

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School Resource Officers

• One of the fastest growing areas of law
  enforcement
• These officers are an integral connection between
  the school and the community
• This is probably one of the best examples of a
  community oriented policing effort that exists
  today

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School Violence

• Pearl Mississippi, Paducah Kentucky, Jonesboro
  Arkansas, Fayetteville Tennessee, Richmond
  Virginia, Littleton Colorado, and Conyers
  Georgia are all schools that come to mind when
  school violence is mentioned
• This is just the tip of the iceberg
• An estimated 100,000 to 250,000 guns are carried
  to school each day and there have been 250 deaths
  at public schools

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Common traits among Shooters

• Shooter Profile
• White male
• Disenfranchised
• Interested in the Internet computer games
• Abandonment of former friends
• Likes violent shows

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Traits Cont..

• Has an orientation towards violent shows, videos
  , and music
• Has a feeling of inferiority of being picked on
• Has a grudge against a student or teacher
• Has easy access to weapons
• Suicidal tendencies and above average
  intelligence
• Presents others with ample warning signs either
  in writing or talks about killing others

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Two Types Violent Children

• Sociopath- is usually a bully who is outgoing and
  manipulative and is instigating fights
• Psychopath- is a loner like the Trench Coat
  Mafia Kids
• School violence can also be termed as workplace
  violence for teachers and staff

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The End