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CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION |
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Cops & Kids Links CRF Home Publications |
Background and Purpose In 1994, Constitutional Rights Foundation began holding Cops & Kids conferences in Los Angeles. The conference was developed in response to teachers’ concerns about youth and police relations following the Rodney King verdict and civil unrest. Middle school teachers shared their  observations that
many students were expressing negative views about the police, and with
a police station only
blocks away, altercations between their students and officers were
steadily rising. The teachers asked if CRF could assist them in addressing these
issues.Research indicates that the most significant predictor of negative attitudes about the police is previous negative interaction. Not surprisingly, positive interactions with the police serve as the most common factor in the development of positive attitudes. Research in the areas of delinquency prevention and the development of pro-social values among youth offers guidance about what kinds of police-youth contacts are most effective. They include those that help young people develop significant relations with officers that are integrated into a child’s educational development; and those that provide students with a realistic and balanced presentation of the role officers play in society and in their communities. Drawing on these findings, CRF developed the Cops & Kids conference model and the Youth and the Police 10-lesson curriculum. The conference is
built around a CRF activity called Police Patrol. This simulation
activity puts students in the roles of citizens needing police
assistance and as officers responding to their calls. Law
enforcement officers act as resource people and coaches to the students
playing the
 roles of police. This simple, yet
powerful simulation provides a structured, safe environment for youth
and police to begin to discuss issues including reasonable force,
profiling, stereotypes, and the role of police in society.A typical
conference provides students and officers with two workshop sessions.
In Session One they participate in Police Patrol, in Session Two, the
officers facilitate a guided discussion that provides students an
opportunity to express their views about issues of police/community
relations and public safety in their own neighborhoods. The
session ends with a brainstorm activity asking students and officers to
explore activities and service-learning projects for youth to do to
improve public safety in their own schools and communities.
Conference Goals
 Over 10,000 middle grades students have
participated in Cops & Kids events in Los Angeles, Philadelphia,
Rhode Island, Chicago, and Arizona. In Los Angeles, special
sessions for parents have been added to the conference. In a
separate breakout room parents participate in the Police Patrol
simulation with officers, using the same methods as the students.
Parents are then invited to join student sessions to observe the
discussions between students and officers. This parent
component has provided schools with a and the police department with an
outreach to involve parents in their children’s education and to
involve them as citizens in the community.All participants surveyed before and after the conference to gauge attitudinal changes and knowledge gained. Past survey results indicate that the conference provides students, parents, and officers with a unique experience to begin to establish positive lines of communication and develop a deeper understanding of each other. Results also demonstrate students and parents gain a more sophisticated knowledge about the role of police in society, the scope and limits of police authority, and an appreciation of the challenges officers face. |