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News

Beaten teen speaks out after Webster police defend his rough arrest caught on camera

  • SFY in the News
Strategies for Youth Executive Director Lisa Thurau spoke with WHDH’s Mari Salazar about this week’s interaction between Webster Police and a 17-year-old: “This leads us, once again, to urge the state of Massachusetts… to create standards for law enforcement agencies, policies for law enforcement agencies, and practices that reflect these

Webster police defend arrest of teen caught on video after he accuses them of excessive force

  • SFY in the News
The Webster Police Department released body camera footage this week showing officers punching and using a taser during the arrest of a juvenile. WBZ spoke with Strategies for Youth’s Executive Director Lisa Thurau about the need for statewide training and policies for law enforcement officers and standards for law enforcement

Memphis schools see attendance dip amid Memphis Safe Task Force, increased ICE operations

  • SFY in the News
Lisa Thurau is the executive director of the national nonprofit Strategies for Youth, which focuses on best practices for how law enforcement and youth should interact and has run law enforcement training in Tennessee. SFY has been outspoken on the effects that National Guard deployments in U.S. cities will have

How Many Children Are Handcuffed in Upstate New York? Policies and Practices Inconsistent Among Police and Sheriff’s Departments

  • SFY in the News
Before a fourth-grader was sprayed with tear gas in 2021 and forced into the back of a Rochester, New York, squad car, an officer shouted: “You’re acting like a child!” “I am a child!” the girl screamed back. In recent years, children as young as 8 and 9 have been

Maine police receive training on teen interactions to avoid escalation and assert authority

  • SFY in the News
AUBURN, Maine — A few dozen police and school resource officers across Maine are being trained this week on how to interact with teenagers. The training, called “Policing the Teen Brain,” is being offered by Strategies for Youth, a nonprofit that works to improve how officers police young people. According

Stop Treating Youth With Militarized Suspicion | Opinion

  • Op Eds, SFY in the News
The children of Washington, D.C., deserve better from their president. The same goes for Chicago's children. And Los Angeles'. And Baltimore's. And beyond. President Donald Trump's claim that the National Guard is needed to control "roving mobs of wild youth" undermines decades of progress in juvenile justice, putting young people

President Trump doubles down on threat to send National Guard to Chicago as concern grows

  • SFY in the News
City and state officials have vowed to use every tool to keep military troops out of Chicago. Charlie De Mar reports on what a National Guard deployment in Chicago might look like.

Statement of Strategies for Youth Opposing Plans to Send the National Guard to “Control” Youth in Washington, D.C.

  • Press Releases
CAMBRIDGE, MA – August 12, 2025 – The children of Washington, DC, deserve better. President Trump’s call for the National Guard to control ‘roving mobs of wild youth’ threatens to undermine decades of progress in juvenile justice, endangering the lives of our young people and their families.

City of Dayton picks partner to lead gun violence prevention program

  • SFY in the News
The city of Dayton is partnering with the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association to address the gun violence in several communities. GDAHA will lead the Cure Violence initiative, treating violence as a public health issue. This effort is a key part of the city's Peace Campaign. WYSO’s Kathryn Mobley spoke

Police Chiefs Slam Massachusetts Youth Policing Draft: ‘Too Vague’

  • SFY in the News
BOSTON, MA- The busybodies are at it again in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) has developed draft standards that would impact how Massachusetts police officers interact with youth in the state, reports Governing. The new standards, created by a commission primarily comprised of social workers

“Settlement tsunami”: Chicago spends more than double city budget on police misconduct settlements

  • SFY in the News
The City of Chicago is searching for financial solutions amidst hundreds of pending police misconduct cases, spending more than double the $82 million budget. Eight years ago, police burst down the door of the Mendez family home unannounced, pointing guns at Hester and Gilbert Mendez, and their sons Peter and

Massachusetts Drafts New Rules for How Cops Interact With Youth

  • SFY in the News
Massachusetts is taking a new look at how police officers should treat minors. In 2020, the commonwealth created an independent agency charged, in part, with creating minimum certification standards for law enforcement agencies. One element of those standards is how law enforcement should interact with juveniles. In late June 2025,

First in the Nation: Strategies For Youth Applauds Massachusetts POST Commission’s Steps to Protect Youth with Draft Juvenile Operations Standards

  • Press Releases
CAMBRIDGE, MA – JUNE 26, 2025 – A meaningful step forward in the pursuit of safer interactions between police and youth, Strategies for Youth (SFY) applauds Thursday’s release of the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission’s first-in-the-nation draft Juvenile Operations Standards for certification of law enforcement agencies.

Best Of BPR 6/13: Massachusetts Is Backsliding On Youth Justice Reform

  • SFY in the News
A new report shows Massachusetts is backsliding on some aspects of juvenile justice reform. Jim Braude and Margery Eagan speak with Lisa Thurau and Kristen Wheeler of Cambridge-based nonprofit Strategies for Youth

Westbrook event empowers parents to spot online predators

  • SFY in the News
WESTBROOK, Maine — Parents are increasingly concerned about how to keep their children safe from online predators, but many don’t know what signs to look for—especially with social media constantly evolving. That’s why the “Don’t Get Groomed” initiative, an educational program hosted by Strategies for Youth, was in Westbrook this

Strategies for Youth: No More Deceit During Massachusetts Juvenile Interrogations

  • Press Releases
CAMBRIDGE, MA – June 10, 2025 – Massachusetts must stop allowing officers to use deceit and deception during interrogations of youths by passing H.1979/S.1065, “An Act Prohibiting Deception in Juvenile Interrogations,” Cambridge-based nonprofit Strategies for Youth (SFY) declared in written testimony to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary on Tuesday.

Probation + Strategies for Youth Hosts 2nd Cohort Of Police Training on Positive Youth Interactions for Local Officers in Contra Costa County

  • SFY in the News
Officers from the cities of Concord, Pittsburg and El Cerrito police departments attended a 4-day Train-the-Trainer cohort training event on April 1-4th at the Probation Department where they completed 28 hours of training on best strategies for teaching their peer officers on important principles and strategies that promote positive interactions

Nonprofit group works to prevent youth arrests, improve relations between youth, police

  • SFY in the News
EXETER, N.H. — A nonprofit organization is working to teach young Granite Staters about the juvenile justice system. The Juvenile Justice Jeopardy Program is part of a statewide initiative working to prevent youth arrests and improve interactions between kids and law enforcement.

Outrage in Worcester over police response to ICE arrest

  • SFY in the News
Taking a traumatized teen to the ground is not ‘de-escalation’ After watching video footage of the chaotic scene in Worcester in which a woman was taken into custody by immigration agents and her 16-year-old daughter was then arrested by police, my jaw dropped when I read the statement issued by

The Rising Cost of Ignoring Juvenile Justice Reform | Opinion

  • Op Eds, SFY in the News
Massachusetts has long been recognized as a leader in juvenile justice reform. Yet, the latest findings from the Juvenile Justice Policy and Data (JJPAD) Board's 2024 Annual Report paint a troubling picture: We are backsliding.

Black, Latino youth more likely to be arrested, data says. What Mass. is doing about it.

  • SFY in the News
Massachusetts is set to become the first state in the nation to introduce statewide regulations on how police interact with young people, a move aimed at addressing racial disparities in the juvenile justice system. The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, which oversees police certification and training, is responsible

Entirely Avoidable: Strategies for Youth Calls for Training, Policies Following Police Shooting of Idaho Teen

  • Press Releases
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — APRIL 10, 2025 — The police shooting of 17-year-old Victor Perez in Idaho this week underscores an urgent need for nationwide action to train and set policies for law enforcement’s interactions with young people, national policy and training organization Strategies for Youth said in a statement Thursday.

Fair and Impartial Policing of Youth: Race, National Origin, and Immigration Status

  • Model Policies, SFY in the News
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

Cops and kids: New report shows troubling trend

  • SFY in the News

Make It 10: Strategies for Youth Calls on Arkansas Legislators to Raise Minimum Age for Juvenile Justice System Involvement

  • Press Releases
CAMBRIDGE, MA – March 27, 2025 – To protect children’s futures, the Arkansas Legislature should support Bill 459 and raise the minimum age of child involvement in the juvenile justice system from 9 to 10 years old, Strategies for Youth Executive Director Lisa Thurau urged in a letter to state

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