Police Training for Better Youth Outcomes

Connecticut is making real progress in developing models to work with police to reduce unnecessary arrests of troubled girls in residential facilities and address minority youth overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system. Two police training initiatives are underway that are delivering positive results: one is targeting a broad, statewide audience of patrol officers, while the other works department-deep in a specific municipality and youth residential facility. The two models are highly complementary, and combined have reached over a thousand patrol officers who are coming into direct contact with our youth.

1. Addressing DMC Through Effective
Police Interactions with Youth

In Connecticut and nationally, minority youth are over-represented in the juvenile justice system. States are required to measure Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) and to develop plans to reduce it. Effective Police Interactions with Youth is part of Connecticut’s strategy to address DMC, as part of a larger informational campaign called JUST.START, which has been profiled in previous issues of this newsletter (www.ctjuststart.org).

The original idea for training patrol officers was in 2004, with the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee responding to extensive research on DMC and its recommendation to impact police handling of juveniles prior to, or in circumstances that would not result in, a written incident report.

Developed by police officers working with expert trainers, Effective Police Interactions with Youth was pilot tested in 2006. It uses a variety of strategies, including team exercises, role playing, lecture and videos. The goals of the free, three-quarter-daylong training are to:

• Increase patrol officer awareness of DMC with the juvenile justice system.
• Increase patrol officer knowledge of youth behavior and strategies for interacting effectively with youth.
• Improve police attitudes toward young people.
• Increase the likelihood that police/youth interactions will have positive outcomes for youth, particularly for minority youth.
• Increase the likelihood of youth responding positively to police officers.

Since its official start in 2007, 718 police officers and supervisors have been trained. Evaluators from the University of Connecticut found (via pre- and post-testing) that participation raised officers’ knowledge about youth behavior and improved their attitudes about working with youth. Six months after the training, significant improvements remained. Officers rated the workshop highly (“I came away feeling that I learned things I could take back with me and use” … “The training gave me the opportunity to hear what the youth of today think of police and how we could better the interaction”… “All entry-level patrol officers should have this to dispel stereotyping of youth”).

As a result, there is interest in the model beyond the state: eight officers who teach Effective Police Interactions with Youth presented the curriculum and conducted train-the-trainer sessions at the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention State Relations and Assistance Division’s National Conference in October of 2009, to participants from Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas. In May of the same year, two officers conducted a similar train-the-trainer in Maine.

2. Reducing Arrests of Girls in Residential Programs

In 2008, the Stepping Stone Program, a residential facility in Waterbury run by NAFI-CT, was suffering from very high arrest rates of the girls in residence, in many cases resulting in transfers to York Correctional Institute. The program needed stabilization and a real culture change.

One of the most successful strategies was the Waterbury Police Department Initiative. Designed by the DCF Bureau of Juvenile Services to train both Waterbury police and facility staff, the initiative focused on how to more effectively interact with adolescent girls at risk and in crisis. Topics covered included an overview of girls adolescent development, trauma history, triggers, suggested intervention strategies and approaches to de-escalation, with an overall goal of sensitizing police and staff to the girls – who they are and how to work with them.

Keys to success included (1) a commitment to change by the leaders of Stepping Stone and the PD (Chief O’Leary issued a memo requiring supervisory approval to arrest a girl at Stepping Stone), and (2) the depth of personnel involved: (A) Waterbury police were trained department-wide – every single officer and supervisor participated (in addition to 43 recruits from 11 other towns and cities at the Waterbury Police Academy); and (B) the entire staff of Stepping Stone Program was trained.

As the following chart shows, the results are remarkable; calls to police were reduced over a two-plus year period from 42 to zero. Arrests were reduced from 42 to 2. No staff has pressed charges over the past 17 months.

In addition to reducing arrests, the culture of the relationship has changed for the better. The Waterbury Police Department opened all Police Athletic League activities to the girls at Stepping Stone. Officers regularly visit the facility for coffee (available to officers 24/7) or to eat dinner with the girls – they recently donated a holiday dinner to the program. To ensure ongoing success, the Program Director at Stepping Stone meets regularly with the Waterbury PD Youth Division Officer to discuss program-related issues and share activity and volunteer opportunities, and there is regular follow-up with the Chief and leadership team.

The police training component is now underway in Litchfield (State Police Troop L), as well as in Bridgeport (approximately 150 officers).