CLEARWATER, Fla. — This year the Tampa Bay region has seen a disheartening number of shootings in our area – mainly involving teenagers in places like Lakeland and Ybor City.
So, when Clearwater cops took the field Friday night for a flag football match with some of the area's young people, there was a lot more going on than just a game.
“I think for us it's an opportunity to interact in a whole different environment,” Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy said.
“It's actually better being around people that you know are going to keep you safe,” 12-year-old player Ahmad Rashad Jackson, Jr. said.
Students like Jackson say the Cops and Kids program in Clearwater has made a difference – not only in himself but the way he thinks about law enforcement.
“They're not bad people. They're actually helpers,” Jackson said. “They're not going to do anything bad to you. They actually want to help you.”
It goes both ways.
“Absolutely. I think this is about people humanizing each other. And I think that's huge. And that's key,” Chief Gandy added. “And that transcends this football game. We have to do that as a community.”
Statistics confirm it.
A study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research looked at afterschool youth programs in Chicago and found a 28 to 35% reduction in total arrests as well as a 45 to 50% reduction in violent crime by participating youth.
Another survey, published in the American Journal of Community Psychology, found participants also did better on standardized reading and math tests, got better grades, and saw improved school attendance.
“When I get older, I hope that I will, like, meet other cops that I can get to know,” Jackson said. “And, like, have a good connection with them too.”
Clearwater Police say building these relationships not only helps keep kids out of trouble but also helps police solve crimes as people in the community learn they can trust their local officers and share information with them.
“We definitely recognize that the youth of our community is critically important. And they'll be community leaders and businesspeople one day,” Chief Gandy said. “And we want them to have positive relationships with the people that they're here to protect them.”