“Once the community is aware that we have a bureau dedicated to the needs of youth we’re hoping we will get more referrals,” said Bowers. “Then we can work proactively and get out in the neighborhoods, talk to residents, talk to kids and collaboratively come up with some solutions.”
Gallo, a former family court defense attorney, ran on a pledge to address juvenile delinquency by fostering closer cooperation between disparate agencies — including the school district, the police and child protective services — involved in safeguarding kids’, and the community’s, welfare. Gallo said he believed the formation of the Youth Bureau was a major step in that direction. Traditionally, Gallo said, the various agencies communicated poorly; for example, a cop on the beat might not know that a child running the streets was under a family court order to attend school. Social services, meanwhile, was often “selective” about removing kids from neglectful home environments, even when parents flouted court orders and the child in question was “terrorizing” neighborhoods, Gallo said. Gallo said he would act as a liaison between the youth cops and DSS to advocate for, or insist upon, enforcement of court orders covering out of control kids.
“This will enable the department, with the mayor as a liaison, to reach out to DSS and all of these service groups where you have historically had this disconnect,” said Gallo.
Parents held to account
The Youth Bureau will also have a new tool to work with: a parental accountability ordinance proposed by citizen Janai McDonough and passed by the council late last year. Under the law, parents whose children repeatedly get into trouble could face fines, or even jail time. The law, advocates say, give the city the power to hold parents accountable when family court action fails to curb delinquent behavior. Bowers said that he had yet to charge anybody under the new law. But, Bowers said, he had already used the threat of prosecution under the ordinance to try to convince parents to take action.
“Just having that as a card to play can help sometimes,” said Bowers.
Advocates for the new bureau, however, say that the mission is about much more than simply cracking down on seriously wayward youth. The larger role, one that the cops hope to accomplish through daily outreach and one-on-one interaction with kids on the street, is to establish a rapport and change attitudes.
Family of Woodstock’s Kingston Cares youth anti-substance abuse program will soon be sharing space with the Youth Bureau at the Hodge Center. Megan Weiss, who has spent seven years working with kids at the Hodge, said many of her young clients distrust police, or feel that they are constantly under suspicion, even when they’re innocently hanging out with friends.
“In the past there was a feeling of looking at a police officer and not seeing safety, but feeling pressured,” said Weiss. “Kids feel like if they’re seen in a large group, even if they’re not doing something wrong, police and other adults look at them like they are.”
Family of Woodstock Executive Director Michael Berg said he was delighted to see a new focus on youth issues by the KPD, and even more by the community policing- oriented approach with its emphasis on building relationships and establishing trust. The effort, he predicted, would pay off with safer kids and safer streets.
“If youth feel comfortable instead of shunning police, they’ll start seeing them as an asset, someplace that they can go for help,” said Berg, who hopes to facilitate community focus groups in conjunction with the bureau. “That will show really significant benefits over time.”
