20th Anniversary Photo Contest – February Winner

The COPS Office is pleased to feature the February 2016 winner of the Community Policing in Action Photo Contest—The Chesapeake (Virginia) Police Department.  Their winning photo features a Chesapeake resident greeting an officer during a neighborhood walk-through.

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Answering the Call to Mentor: 21st Century Policing through Youth Engagement

Use of excessive force. It is a phrase that was once ambiguous yet is thrust more deeply into the public eye and consciousness with each passing day. With every new allegation against a law enforcement agency—or an individual officer——public scrutiny sharpens and the public’s list of questions and concerns lengthens. Gone are the days of blind trust in and implied respect for law enforcement as recent actions and events (in Ferguson, Missouri; Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; and elsewhere) have led to a spreading distrust of law enforcement and a growing rift between individual officers and the civilians they are sworn to serve and protect..

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How Mental Health Training Helps School Resource Officers

So many young people today experience trauma and other mental health issues. As part of their “informal counselor” role, school resource officers (SRO) must be equipped to recognize the signs of mental illness and how to respond to these youth. When SROs understand mental illness and crises and make referrals to mental health and other community providers, they are engaged in a fundamental strategy to keep youth healthy, in school, and out of justice involvement.

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Juvenile Recidivism Reduction: A Phenomenological Investigation of Successful Juvenile Reintegration Executive Summary

The United States criminal justice correctional system burdens taxpayers at a rate of about 52 billion dollars a year. (Pew Center 2008; Pew Center 2011) It has been documented that recidivism contributes significantly to the high costs of incarceration, and up to 55 percent of juveniles contribute to the overall recidivism rate. (Geis 2003; Mears and Travis 2004; Snyder and Sickmund 2006; Stoodley 2010) Of that $52 billion, taxpayers spend more than seven billion dollars on juvenile recidivists.

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Spotlight on Japan—Social Systems Security, a Combination of People and Science Part II

Beyond this, SECOM has had an autonomous ground patrol robot known as Robot X in service for about a decade now. Utilizing 360-degree vision, the vehicle assists uniformed security with patrol duties through coverage of pre-programmed routes both autonomously and through remote control. This allows for fewer personnel at security stations, thereby reducing costs, as the robot is cheaper than hiring a security guard. Upon encountering individuals during pre-set patrols in off-limits zones, Robot X will issue verbal warnings to the individual that they are in a secure area while alerting security personnel.

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