Strategies for Youth - Police & Youth

In this episode, SFY’s Executive Director has a conversation with a group of people who have engaging with youth in their communities using a game-based educational tool called Juvenile Justice Jeopardy.  All too often, young people think they know the law and their rights. Unfortunately, this can lead to disagreement and conflict during interactions with police and other law enforcement personnel. The Juvenile Justice Jeopardy game strives to teach youth how to navigate interactions with police and peers and provides them with an understanding of the legal consequences of their actions. The game also offers simple strategies for resisting peer pressure to engage in risky behavior as well as teaching youth the short and long term legal consequences of having arrest and court records. Find out more about Juvenile Justice Jeopardy by going to our web-page https://strategiesforyouth.org/services/juvenile-justice-jeopardy/

In other professions, specifically where adults are in regular contact with youth, states are typically involved in setting and enforcing clear and consistent training requirements. Establishing and enforcing minimum standards is, in itself, a standard in the U.S…. except in law enforcement where the lack of engagement by state agencies to create meaningful and relevant training standards is an anomaly. References 1. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Facial Affect Recognition in Children and Adolescents. BAIRD, ABIGAIL A. et al. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 38, Issue 2, 195 – 199 2. A Social Neuroscience Perspective on Adolescent Risk-Taking. Steinberg, L. (2008). Developmental review: DR, 28 1, 78-106 3. Improving police officer and justice personnel attitudes and de-escalation skills: A pilot study of Policing the Teen Brain. Matthew C. Aalsma, Katherine Schwartz & Wanzhu Tu (2019), Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, DOI: 10.1080/10509674.2018.1523819 Source Article: https://www.policeone.com/police-training/articles/485075006-Why-we-need-consistent-training-standards-for-police-youth-interactions/

In this episode, we will be exploring the importance of de-escalation when interacting with people as a law-enforcement officer. While this will focus primarily on interactions with teens and young adults, the tactics presented can also be applied to just about anyone.

Welcome to the first SFY podcast! This series will share thoughts, ideas, best practices, and updates with our listeners. We’ll have a wide variety of speakers including members of the Strategies for Youth team, law enforcement officers from across the United States, voices from the juvenile justice community, and youth.