The NYPD Community Affairs Bureau is hoping to help serve as the vessel that will carry many at-risk teens into a brighter future through higher education.
The brainchild of Deputy Commissioner of Community Affairs Mark Stewart, the NYPD has begun working with local high schools where they act as tour guides, bussing teens to colleges outside of the city. Partnering with SUNY schools, the cops endeavor to ensure kids have access to educational opportunities outside of their everyday stomping grounds by not only driving them from their high schools to the colleges, but also accompanying them every step of the way.
“We try to target problematic schools and areas with high crime. We noticed that a lot of times they [the teens] don’t get a chance to leave those communities and kind of really see the other opportunities out there,” said Alden Foster, the Director for Youth Services and Community Engagement at the NYPD. “We are going to try and do two or three trips a month.”
According to Foster, officers from the Community Affairs will arrive at the schools at around 7 a.m. and then fill the NYPD bus with approximately 30 young passengers before whizzing away for a tour of a prospective institute.
Most recently on Dec. 1, police transported students from Harry S. Truman High School and Bronx Health Sciences High School to Stony Brook University. Police put a particular emphasis on those students considered at the highest risk of falling into crime, leaving the education system, or are unable to make it to college on their own accord.
Foster admits that initially when police buses arrive, the youth are skeptical. But the officers, who are specifically chosen to participate in this program, quickly strike up friendly relationships with the students while accompanying them on the bus and inside the colleges they visit.
“This is not just about getting kids on a bus, showing them a school. It’s more about building that relationship, they are introduced to everyone that’s on the bus with them. This is all about that engagement kind of work,” Foster explained. “The kids love it. A lot of schools are calling us back and saying, ‘hey, we want more kids to do it.’”
In addition to the tours, the youngsters are afforded an opportunity to experience daily school life at these colleges by eating lunch in the cafeterias, allowing the teens to quiz their older counterparts regarding campus lifestyle. The NYPD hopes that through tours like these they are able to put a dent in crime and gang recruitment by helping kids gain access to higher educational opportunities.
“This experience was very eye-opening and very interesting because I got to learn about the activities and all the different kinds of things Stony Brook offers,” said Nallyta Obeng, a student at Harry S. Truman High School.
High schooler Segreika Henry was extremely excited about her visit to SUNY Stony Brook since it has always been her dream college.
“Today was a big opportunity for us to come here because this is my dream school, by the way, and for me to come here it was amazing. I got to learn more about the school and why I want to come here. We also learned about activities and all the stuff the school can offer on the table. So it was really great experience,” Henry said.
The next trip will take place on Monday, Dec. 5 and will be taking teens from Brooklyn to SUNY Maritime College alongside NYPD officers who are also members of the Navy.
Foster told amNewYork Metro that the Community Affairs Bureau hopes to help with this process throughout the five boroughs.
