Advancing Juvenile Justice in Law Enforcement
In June of 2011, the IACP and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation began a multi-year partnership to increase the leadership role of state and local law enforcement executives to effectively address systemic juvenile justice issues as well as improve local responses to youthful offenders through a project titled Law Enforcement’s Leadership Role in the Advancement of Promising Practices in Juvenile Justice.
Through the MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change initiative, which seeks to create innovative and sustainable models for juvenile justice reform in the United States, the IACP will identify opportunities for law enforcement executives to build partnerships and advance innovative approaches to address youthful offenders in their communities.
Description of Project Activities
Advisory Group
A tremendous group of knowledgeable and influential leaders in the criminal and juvenile justice community are serving as Advisors to this project. The first Advisory Group meeting was held in Chicago, IL on December 15, 2011, during which Advisors provided preliminary feedback and ideas on building a successful project to improve the involvement of law enforcement in juvenile justice reform.
Advisory Group List
Focus Groups
Three focus groups were held in Washington, DC, Chicago, IL, and Philadelphia, PA in 2011 with varied criminal and juvenile justice community members. These focus groups yielded significant discussions and guidance on the need for increased collaboration and communication between law enforcement and the juvenile justice community and highlighted issues that many agencies are faced with.
Future Activities
Nationwide Survey (2012)
A survey will be conducted by the IACP through a professional survey research company to assess current police department attitudes and knowledge of the juvenile justice system, and to identify current practices, collaborations, or resources they share with their local juvenile justice community. A final report will be produced that will assist with identifying main themes for the National Policy Summit.
National Policy Summit (2013)
A two-day National Policy Summit will be held in the Washington, D.C. area with approximately 80 participants from across the United States. Participants will focus on enhancing communication and collaboration between the wider juvenile justice system and law enforcement, working with law enforcement to create and implement innovative alternatives to arrest, building capacity to address juvenile justice needs, and enhancing officer training. A final report on the outcome of the National Policy Summit will be released.
Pilot Training (2014)
Information obtained from the survey and National Policy Summit will be used to create a curriculum for a four-day training institute. The training will host law enforcement executives who will assess their agency’s current response to youthful offenders including department polices, working procedures, agency culture, and community collaboration to identify organizational strengths and weaknesses. The executives will be introduced to cutting edge juvenile justice information and crime fighting tools for responding to youth and will develop agency specific action plans to implement upon their return home. After demonstrating a successful pilot training, it is expected that additional trainings will be offered at a regular intervals.
Contact:
For more information please contact Kate Rhudy at 800-843-4227 x827.
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