Assessment of Police/Youth Relations

Assessment of Police/Youth Relations Assessment of a Department’s police/youth relations is conducted to ascertain the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth and improvement of police/youth interactions and violence prevention.

Elements of an Assessment include extensive interviewing, surveying and observation of officers, youth, and community leaders. The assessment also focuses on crime statistics for teens, deployment of officers, and organizational distribution of resources to use for working with youth. Each assessment includes review of departmental regulations to ensure they are updated and consonant with nationwide standards as set forth by CALEA and the IACP.

Assessment Methods for Police Department include:

Police Survey
Individual and group interviews
Police officer demographics
Observation of police/youth interactions
Review of arrest and complaint data for youth

Assessment of Youth and Community Leaders include:

Youth survey (through schools)
Individual and group interviews of youth
Demographics of youth (poverty level, race, drug use, immigration, education)
Youth services and resources inventory

Assessment Report & Recommendations typically include:

Report on youths’ perceptions
Report on officers’ perceptions
Organizational analysis of deployment, strengths and weaknesses of the department vis a vis youth
Recommendations for specific interventions and deployment

Results of Assessment are prepared as a report submitted solely to the Police Chief or the funding authority to be distributed as the Chief directs.