News

SFY's Model Policy #8 - Policing of Youth with Disabilities, Experiencing Mental Health Crises, or Impaired by Drugs or Alcohol – is featured in the Winter 2025 Issue of Juvenile Justice Update. This policy provides a framework for recognizing indicators of disability, mental health crisis, or drug or alcohol impairment

SFY Model Policies have been recommended San Francisco Police Commission and are in the the process of being adopted by the SFPD.

SFY's Model Policy #5–Use of Force with Youth– is featured in the Fall 2024 Issue of Juvenile Justice Update. This policy directs officers to use the least amount of physical force possible to effect a lawful law enforcement purpose, and recommends standards of use, including restricted use and prohibitions, for

Three years ago, after a video of Rochester police handcuffing and pepper-spraying a schoolgirl in distress reached the public, state and local officials joined in uniform outrage, calling for immediate reforms. “This isn’t how the police should treat anyone, let alone a 9-year-old girl,” said then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Among some of the top priorities in enhancing community policing efforts is refining community and police relations… specifically with youth.

A series of recent groundbreaking investigative reports unveiled what many advocates for police accountability have known for decades: Child sex abuse by law enforcement officials is far too common across our country. Systemic failures within policing—coupled with lax oversight by police departments, prosecutors, and judges—too often shield police officers from

SFY's Model Policies are featured in the Summer 2024 Issue of Juvenile Justice Update. Model Polices covered in this issue focus on Miranda Warnings, Waiver of Rights, and Youth Interrogations.

Readers respond to The Post’s “Abused by the Badge” series.

A Washington Post investigation found hundreds of law enforcement officers in the United States have sexually exploited kids. Many avoid prison time.

SFY's Model Policy #6 - Fair and Impartial Policing of Youth: Race, National Origin, and Immigration Status – is featured in the Spring 2025 Issue of Juvenile Justice Update. This policy furthers the commitment to fair and impartial enforcement of the law and the protection of youths’ constitutional and statutory

Strategies for Youth is one of the few organizations in the country focused on the true front door of the juvenile justice system: interactions between youth and law enforcement officers. Recently, SFY published a collection of model policies for departments to use in making those interactions safer and more productive.

Quote of the Show: “We have to educate the kids and we have to educate law enforcement. And you gain legitimacy with both groups if you tell one you're training the other.” - Lisa Thurau

Strategies for Youth endorses the statement issued today by three advocacy organizations about the harm of unjust prosecutions of Black youth, and joins them in their call for immediate reforms, including legislation and law enforcement policies prohibiting the arrest of children. In view of the selective enforcement of law, the

In the 2nd part of our podcast, we discuss law enforcement interaction with youth with our guest Lisa Thurau from Strategies for Youth. 90% of the offenses committed by youth are non-violent, but police are not trained to respond appropriately to youth offenders, who are developmentally different from adult offenders.

How should police handle it when young people commit crimes? A new poll by Strategies for Youth finds the majority of Americans believe there should be alternatives to being arrested.

Washington, D.C. Even though most U.S. law enforcement agencies lack any guidelines about how to interact, interrogate, or arrest young people, 56% of Americans think agencies “probably” have written policies for youth interactions, a disconnect that leaves police, citizens, and communities vulnerable, according to Strategies for Youth (SFY), a national

Bismark, ND. Bismarck Police Department policy and procedures regarding the use of deadly force are based on state law and U.S. Supreme Court decisions, not a suspect's age, a spokesman said in the wake of a weekend incident in which officers shot and killed a teenager. The death of 17-year-old

A new report from the non-profit Strategies for Youth calls for a wholesale re-evaluation of how America's law enforcement agencies deal with children and teenagers. Executive Director Lisa Thurau is Jim's guest on "The Final 5."