Creative Partnerships: Supporting Youth, Building Communities

• NCJ Number: 197041
• Author(s): Dylan Presman; Robert Chapman; Linda Rosen
• Date Published: September 2002
• Length: 17 pages
• Corporate Author: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This document discusses three innovative community policing programs supported by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

Abstract

The Home Run Program promotes a close working partnership between the San Bernardino (California) County Probation Department and county schools. Funded by the COPS Office in 1998, the program assigns individual probation officers to work directly with specific schools or geographically based clusters of schools. The aim of the program is for probation officers to work proactively with students to identify and address behavioral problems that may place them at risk of entering the juvenile justice system in the future. There are now a total of 26 school-based probation officers on school campuses within the county. The STOP the Violence program is designed to address the issue of youth violence from a youth perspective. The student leadership of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, in partnership with the COPS Office, developed STOP the Violence-Students Taking on Prevention as a community-based training curriculum designed to empower youth to find innovative ways to address school violence. Young people bring STOP the Violence to life in local schools by planning, implementing, and evaluating awareness activities and action projects. Students define problems, explore solutions, and develop action plans to reduce the potential for violence in their school. The COPS Office is working with community organizations in New York City and Los Angeles to develop police magnet schools that build bonds of respect and admiration between law enforcement and youth, giving young people strong role models in the community. Magnet schools allow youth that have experienced trouble fitting into the traditional academic environment to belong to a smaller educational community that connects their academic studies directly with career aspirations and goals, and develops strong relationships between students and professional entities.