NCJ Number
198314
Date Published
September 2001
Length
115 pages
Annotation
This report describes the technical assistance and training activities for the nine sites involved in the national Youth Focused Community Policing project (YFCP), which is focusing on the development of community policing strategies that take into account the problems of children, youth, and families.
Abstract
The YFCP began in March 1996 as a joint effort of the Federal Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and Community Relations Service. The goals of the YFCP were to promote community information-sharing strategies that support comprehensive, proactive partnership between police, youth, and the community; to establish a locally based interagency working group to identify and address juvenile crime, victimization, community safety, and quality of community life; and to develop and implement strategies, activities, and services that are consistent with the principles of community policing and that address locally defined problems that relate to juvenile crime, victimization, and quality of life. Further, the project aimed to develop an implementation plant that reinforces positive ongoing relationships among youth, law enforcement agencies, and community organizations. Phase 1 of the three-phase project involved the development and implementation of Key Leader Work Sessions that were designed to familiarize Empowerment Zone and Enhanced Enterprise Communities with the YFCP approach. Phase 2 consisted of the delivery of technical assistance and training to communities that were participating in this initiative; and phase 3 awarded grants to these sites to support YFCP activities. Although various problems resulted in a lack of timely responses and decisions that prevented some communities from participating in the YFCP and caused other sites to continually re-examine their goals and interest in YFCP participation, the YFCP did achieve progress in meeting its goals. Communities were helped to open lines of communication among community agencies, improve collaboration and cooperation, and serve youth in a proactive rather than only a reactive manner. The YFCP also helped to identify and establish mechanisms at the local level for identifying and countering juvenile crime and victimization while enhancing community safety, and quality-of-life issues by using a multidisciplinary response. In addition, the project helped to develop and implement community policing strategies and approaches for addressing locally defined juvenile crime, victimization, and quality-of-life issues. Separate summaries of technical assistance and training activities are provided for each of the nine YFCP sites. Appended Key Leader Work Session materials and a summary of YFCP grant activities