youth engagement Archives

New Skills, New Friends, New Perspectives

Youth-focused policing is a proactive strategy that enables police to engage with youth early, aiming to reduce delinquency, crime, victimization, long-term health and criminal justice costs, and prol...

Youth

The Vital Role of Credible Messengers

In 2022, gun-related incidents were the leading cause of death for children in the United States.1 Since 2020, firearm deaths have surpassed those from car accidents.2 While overall violent crime rate...

Community-Police Engagement

From a Vision to Success

The mission statement of the Sioux Falls Police Department (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) is “Partnering with the community to serve, protect, and promote quality of life.” The department consistentl...

Youth

Co-Creating New Pathways for Youth Engagement

Talk to most young people today, and they will express that times are hard. Youth are dealing with mental health issues, financial pressures, inequities, and other difficult societal conditions. Th...

Youth

Creating a Culture of Community-Based Change

It was a candid assessment from the new police chief in Pine Hill, New Jersey, after examining the culture of his agency and engaging in self-reflection: We need to do more to protect our youth. Ch...

Youth

After School: The Prime Time for Juvenile Crime

For decades, law enforcement has known that the hours immediately after school, when parents are less likely to be available to provide supervision, are the times when kids are more likely to commit o...

Youth

Implementing a Youth Engagement Strategy

The importance of engaging youth in crime prevention, community wellness, and trust building cannot be overstated. The profession of policing, at its core, is focused on the prevention and reduction o...

Youth

Building Social Capital

On February 1, 2017, A headline read, “Gangs, guns and rap videos helped make 2016 Norfolk’s deadliest year in a decade.” The article depicted a photograph of three African American youth holdin...