Community Police and Youth Programs as a Context for Positive Youth Development

Abstract

The results of an evaluation of community police youth development programs are presented. Youth involved in Police Working With Youth Programs were contrasted with youth recruited from local high schools. It was hypothesized that youth who participate in police programs would show more positive changes than youth in the comparison group in four general categories of youth outcomes. The outcomes included indicators of youth personal adjustment, social competencies, positive adult-youth connections, and positive youth-community connections. Analyses of the total sample of youth who participated in the programs indicated no significant changes. However, a subgroup of youth who entered the programs with low levels of psychosocial functioning showed significantly more positive changes than the comparison group on several of the outcomes studied. These included self-assertive efficacy, self-regulatory efficacy, and empathy for others. The vast majority of youth found participating in Police Working With Youth Programs to be a very positive experience.