Police/Youth Surveys

Assessment of a law enforcement agency’s relations with youth is conducted to ascertain the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth and improvement of those relationships, with an eye to reduction of disproportionate minority contact, and violence prevention. SFY uses statistical data, interviews, and review of other data to inform its assessments

SFY conducts its assessments by interviewing and surveying command staff officers, patrol and school resource officers, juvenile justice system stakeholders (e.g. judges, defenders, prosecutors, and probation officers), youth, and community leaders. As part of the Assessment, we collect arrest statistics for teens, deployment of officers, and departmental resources for working with youth, as well as partnerships with youth-serving, community-based organizations. Each assessment includes review of an agency’s regulations to ensure they are updated and consistent with nationwide standards as set forth by CALEA and the IACP, and other sources of best practices.

Results

The results of an assessment are prepared as a confidential report submitted solely to agency leadership. If required, the report will be shared with the funding authority after being reviewed by agency leadership.

Survey Methods for Law Enforcement Include:

  • Individual and group interviews of officers and command staff
  • Review of departments’ standard operating procedures
  • Review of arrest data for youth
  • Analysis of deployment approaches

Survey Methods for Youth
and Community Include:

  • Group interviews of youth
  • Compilation of demographic analysis of youth (e.g. poverty rates, population, race and nationality, immigration, education access)
  • Youth services and resources inventory
  • Review of court data where available

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