Officers from District B-3 Get To Know Local Youth Officers from District B-3 (Mattapan) have spent the last several weeks getting to know local youth from the Franklin Field area. On Wednesday evening March 18, 2009, twelve Police Officers met with twelve young men ages 14-19 to share thoughts, concerns and experiences. The B-3 CSO officers have been working closely with these young community members over the past three weeks. The goal of the program is to enhance the relationship between youth and police so that the kids may come to know and trust the officers. In addition, it is an opportunity for the officers to get better acquainted with the youth and learn about their goals, dreams, and their concerns within their community.
This effort is a part of the The Youth & Police Initiative (YPI), a training created by NAFI/NFI to enhance police officers understanding of the beliefs, values, and experiences of local youth, while ensuring that youth develop a genuine regard for the challenges that police officers face on the job. Within this context, YPI provides structured dialogue, team building and role playing scenarios that allow all participants—youth and police—to tackle the real and hard issues of crime prevention and community policing.
For more information on this important initiative, please check out today’s column by Peter Gelzinis.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1159814
