Community outreach to build lasting partnerships is essential for public safety. One impactful initiative is for police agencies to teach, inspire and motivate future community leaders with youth mentoring through a youth leadership program. 

Such programs enable youth to realize their potential by empowering them to become effective, compassionate leaders to solve problems and to improve the community. Youth mentoring offers teens greater responsibility and an opportunity to provide public service, as well as enhances community awareness and provides a positive purpose in life. 

Mentoring leadership program

Several years ago, I helped create a successful youth mentoring program at the La Mesa Police Department near San Diego, California. This is a four-day youth leadership program that teaches teens how to become compassionate, effective leaders. The purpose is to provide leadership training, life skills, personal development, team building and responsibility. Participants engage in classroom instruction and discussions, athletic and academic team challenges, public service opportunities and interact with community leaders and motivational speakers.

The program challenges teens physically and mentally as they develop the concepts of effective leadership. The objective is to cultivate students’ character and leadership development and contribute to their success in life. The theme of the program is
“Leaders are driven by their hearts to solve problems and to make the world a better place.”

Agencies need to recognize the important role officers play in developing positive connections among teens, their families, the public and the police to enhance community welfare and safety. Law enforcement leaders work together to plan, coordinate and facilitate the youth mentoring program, which also has a very positive effect on the officers. It provides officers with the opportunity to connect with and positively influence young lives in meaningful ways. Such youth mentoring programs will tend to improve the image of the police department and increase public interaction, understanding and partnerships.

My agency works with local high schools to select the participants. Officers volunteer their time to mentor the teens. Local businesses are solicited for donations to cover the program’s costs so that teens can attend free of charge. Parents, family members and city officials attending the graduation ceremony interact with participants who express the value and benefits of the program and the positive time spent with the police officers.

One student expressed, “I learned mostly about how you push past your limits if you want to be successful. You must get through the hard parts, and you will be successful in life because you have already overcome adversity. This mentoring program really has given us all incentive to help others and our community, and it was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had.” 

Youth mentoring program components

Each of the four, eight-hour days of the leadership mentoring program consists of four sections, including classroom instruction, a motivational presentation, community service and physical team challenges. Officers incorporate leadership themes and practices into each activity.

The classroom portion consists of a lecture, discussion and breakout groups on one of four themes. The themes include defining effective leadership and learning how to improve and practice leadership skills, motivating self and others with a focus on personal responsibility, promoting ethics and civil responsibility, and performing public service. The instruction covers ways to communicate effectively, how to be goal driven, developing one’s own leadership style through compassion and an emphasis on doing the most good, and positively influencing others to work together toward a common goal.

A class on motivation emphasizes the value of believing in oneself and in other people, working toward consistent self-improvement, developing character and inspiring others. A public service class highlights the importance of serving the community, making a difference in people’s lives and increasing personal quality of life. It stresses finding a higher, selfless purpose in life by being useful and helpful to others. An ethics class discusses the meaning of integrity and leading through positive, honest behavior.

Each day, motivational speakers share their stories and discuss serving their community and nation by contributing to a cause greater than themselves. These presenters teach the purpose of serving a noble cause to make a meaningful difference and the peace and fulfillment that comes in doing so selflessly and with honor.

Each day, the participants give two hours of volunteer community service throughout the city. This has included working at a program for mentally challenged people, a center for the blind, a homeless shelter, a food bank, painting over graffiti and doing yard work at the homes of senior citizens.

Daily physical challenges and team activities have included a 1.5-mile hike to the top of a local mountain, dodgeball tournaments, kayaking and a team obstacle course. For each physical activity, participants work together in teams and compete with other groups while practicing their leadership skills.

Conclusion

It’s important for the police to have proactive, positive engagement with the community, especially its youth. This creates a greater understanding of the role of the police, helps to create positive partnerships and empowers youth to have a meaningful, successful life. It helps these youth to become better citizens and may inspire them toward a life of public service — which benefits everyone.