• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe to the Magazine
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Featured
    • Operation Gratitude stops by NYPD precinct
      Drury University “Badge to Bachelors” program offers scholarships...
      HBCU makes history
      “We were swamped”— gun permits surge in Wake County
      Stray beagle finds a home and purpose with local police
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • Good Samaritans rescue police officer from burning vehicle
        NYPD will deploy undercover officers in Asian communities for...
        Portland police chief takes responsibility for leaks damaging...
        Half of troopers at a Michigan State Police outpost are women
        Lessons learned: How police strategy has evolved to deal with mass...
    • Labor
      • NYPD unions attribute rise in crime to bail reform laws
        Seattle police budget cuts lead to slower response times for priority...
        The Firefighter Corollary
        New Jersey “Burnout Bill” could allow police officers and...
        Union says “many” U.S. Capitol Police officers want to leave the...
    • Tech
      • Law enforcement begins testing Skydio drones
        Technology gives police an edge in chases
        Data-driven investigations
        Police technology: Why so far behind?
        Charlotte-Mecklenburg police use key technology to battle crime wave
    • Training
      • Patterns, habits and deviations
        Training the best for the worst
        “We were swamped”— gun permits surge in Wake County
        Firearms vs. scenario-based training
        New PT standard for future officers draws objections
    • Policy
      • San Francisco lawmaker wants California to repeal its jaywalking due...
        Texas House bill takes aim law enforcement on reality TV
        Arizona bill would limit civilians on police review boards
        Iowa bill banning combined police and fire departments targets Cedar...
        California bill to mandate handgun microstamping would increase costs...
    • Health/Wellness
      • Awareness is not enough
        Practicing gratitude
        Post-traumatic stress: causes, symptoms and ways to heal
        Busted: Five myths about marital counseling
        Pandemic, protests and purpose
    • Community
      • Former police officer continues to serve the community by teaching at...
        Fueling goodwill
        Nonprofit foundation strengthens relationships between students and...
        Operation Gratitude stops by NYPD precinct
        Flag flareup
    • Humor
      • Alabama police capture runaway kangaroo
        The missing kangaroo returns home to Stokoe Farms in Scottsville
        Chick-Fil-A customer door-checks fleeing suspect
        Wisconsin driver pulled over for driving while seated on a camping...
        North Carolina sheriff’s office offers humorous “Valentine’s...
    • We Remember
      • Boulder residents pay respects to fallen officer Eric Talley
        Locked up forever
        Tampa Bay grieves over the loss of officers
        New Jersey police veteran who helped in 9/11 aftermath dies
        LA Police Officer Reinstated 120 Years after Being Unjustly Fired
  • On the Job
    • Good Samaritans rescue police officer from burning vehicle
      NYPD will deploy undercover officers in Asian communities for...
      Portland police chief takes responsibility for leaks damaging...
      Half of troopers at a Michigan State Police outpost are women
      Lessons learned: How police strategy has evolved to deal with mass...
  • Labor
    • NYPD unions attribute rise in crime to bail reform laws
      Seattle police budget cuts lead to slower response times for priority...
      The Firefighter Corollary
      New Jersey “Burnout Bill” could allow police officers and...
      Union says “many” U.S. Capitol Police officers want to leave the...
  • Tech
    • Law enforcement begins testing Skydio drones
      Technology gives police an edge in chases
      Data-driven investigations
      Police technology: Why so far behind?
      Charlotte-Mecklenburg police use key technology to battle crime wave
  • Training
    • Patterns, habits and deviations
      Training the best for the worst
      “We were swamped”— gun permits surge in Wake County
      Firearms vs. scenario-based training
      New PT standard for future officers draws objections
  • Policy
    • San Francisco lawmaker wants California to repeal its jaywalking due...
      Texas House bill takes aim law enforcement on reality TV
      Arizona bill would limit civilians on police review boards
      Iowa bill banning combined police and fire departments targets Cedar...
      California bill to mandate handgun microstamping would increase costs...
  • Health/Wellness
    • Awareness is not enough
      Practicing gratitude
      Post-traumatic stress: causes, symptoms and ways to heal
      Busted: Five myths about marital counseling
      Pandemic, protests and purpose
  • Community
    • Former police officer continues to serve the community by teaching at...
      Fueling goodwill
      Nonprofit foundation strengthens relationships between students and...
      Operation Gratitude stops by NYPD precinct
      Flag flareup
  • Humor
    • Alabama police capture runaway kangaroo
      The missing kangaroo returns home to Stokoe Farms in Scottsville
      Chick-Fil-A customer door-checks fleeing suspect
      Wisconsin driver pulled over for driving while seated on a camping...
      North Carolina sheriff’s office offers humorous “Valentine’s...
  • We Remember
    • Boulder residents pay respects to fallen officer Eric Talley
      Locked up forever
      Tampa Bay grieves over the loss of officers
      New Jersey police veteran who helped in 9/11 aftermath dies
      LA Police Officer Reinstated 120 Years after Being Unjustly Fired
  • Jobs and Careers
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

Community

When parents are arrested, what about the kids?

New Buffalo P.D. program emphasizes “child-sensitive policing”

Published March 1, 2021 @ 1:42 pm PST

iStock.com/Vladimir Vladimirov

Unfortunately, the necessary evils of law enforcement sometimes include having to arrest a suspect whose children are present at the scene. While this is an understandably scary and disturbing thing for kids to experience, how officers approach the task can make a big difference in the young witnesses’ emotional health, as well as potentially affecting how they view police for the rest of their lives. That’s why the Buffalo Police Department in New York is launching a program focused on safeguarding the children of arrested parents.

Starting this summer, all Buffalo police officers will participate in a five-hour training program to learn how to minimize trauma for children while conducting arrests of parents. The department will implement new procedures for such situations, including arresting parents outside the presence of their children, ensuring childcare arrangements are made, and establishing a safe and friendly space for children to wait until a caregiver is located. The protocols are based on best practices established by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), but will be modified to meet the specific needs of the local community. Officers will also begin documenting how many arrests of suspects take place with their children on scene, since there’s currently no official data on the topic.

The innovative project is a partnership with the Osborne Association, which works to create opportunities for people affected by the criminal justice system and has observed that “one of the most trauma-inducing factors in the lives of children with incarcerated parents is being present when their parents were arrested,” said senior advisor Denise O’Donnell, a former U.S. attorney for Western New York who previously served as director of the BJA. The initiative is partially funded by AT&T and advised by a new consortium of agencies serving youth in Western New York, which will work to provide follow-up services for children and families.

The Buffalo P.D. sees the program as key to strengthening the bond between police and the community they serve. “It is going to build a better relationship with the children,” Deputy Police Commissioner Barbara Lark told WKBW news. “If we can do that early on, we can have a better relationship and a better outlook throughout our policing career.”

Lark can personally attest to the impact law enforcement can have on young lives, for better or worse. She told WGRZ news the story of a 3-year-old boy she once met at a community event. When she waved at him, expecting a friendly response, he said, “I don’t like police.” Taken aback, she asked the boy’s aunt about him and learned his father had been arrested. “This was the impact that the arrest had on that young boy, and I went to my car, and I got some coloring books and some police stickers, and I just refused to leave that situation like that because it just bothered me so much that this kid felt that way about police,” Lark remembered. “I gave him the coloring books and the stickers and I talked to him for a little while. When I left, he had a different attitude and a different opinion about police.”

Hopefully, the new child-sensitive practices will help the department create that effect on a wider scale, reducing negative encounters with police and strengthening community trust in law enforcement. The project hopes to serve as a model for other agencies, an example of the kind of reform everyone can get behind.  

Categories: Community

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Good Samaritans rescue police officer from burning vehicle
  • NYPD will deploy undercover officers in Asian communities for protection
  • Portland police chief takes responsibility for leaks damaging public’s trust
  • Boulder residents pay respects to fallen officer Eric Talley
  • Half of troopers at a Michigan State Police outpost are women
  • San Francisco lawmaker wants California to repeal its jaywalking due to disproportionate enforcement against people of color
  • Former police officer continues to serve the community by teaching at local schools
  • Texas House bill takes aim law enforcement on reality TV
  • Lessons learned: How police strategy has evolved to deal with mass shootings
  • Arizona bill would limit civilians on police review boards
Advertise with APB

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Featured
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Humor
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers

Editor’s Picks

Ass-kissing, favoritism, oh my!

Ass-kissing, favoritism, oh my!

January 28, 2021

This K-9 is a gym rat at heart!

This K-9 is a gym rat at heart!

January 25, 2021

A thread of courage and love

A thread of courage and love

January 20, 2021

The job doesn’t love you back

The job doesn’t love you back

December 28, 2020

Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2021 American Police Beat, Inc. | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close
Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.