Here & Now

Racine Police Chief On New Approach To Policing In Schools

IN RACINE, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS LOOKING TO CHANGE THE WAY IT INTERACTS WITH STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOLS THERE. THIS WEEK, THE SCHOOL BOARD UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED BRINGING THE CITY’S COMMUNITY POLICING MODEL TO THE DISTRICT SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS. RACINE POLICE CHIEF ART HOWELL BROUGHT THE IDEA FORWARD AND HE JOINS US NOW FROM RACINE. CHIEF, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

ART HOWELL:

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF BRINGING COMMUNITY POLICING INTO THE SCHOOLS?

ART HOWELL:

WELL, AS HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED THROUGHOUT THE NATION, WE’VE GOT ISSUES WHERE THERE’S PROBLEMS IN TERMS OF RAPPORT BETWEEN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IN PARTICULAR AND YOUNG PEOPLE. WE THOUGHT WHAT BETTER WAY TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS THAN TO DO IT RIGHT AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

WELL, HOW WILL THIS NEW APPROACH WITH COMMUNITY POLICING LOOK DIFFERENT THAN THE USUAL RESOURCE OFFICERS IN SCHOOLS?

ART HOWELL:

WE HAVE A C-O-P MODEL HERE THAT HAS BEEN IN PLACE SINCE 1993. WHAT WE’VE DONE IS WE’VE REALLY BECOME EMBEDDED AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL. SO WHAT HAPPENS IS AS OPPOSED TO AN OFFICER JUST COMING IN ON A SHORT-TERM BASIS TO DEAL WITH CRISIS, THE OFFICERS ARE THERE ON A REGULAR BASIS. OFFICERS ARE ASSIGNED TO A GIVEN NEIGHBORHOOD SO THEY LEARN THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WHO SHOULD BE THERE. THEY LEARN WHO SHOULDN’T BE THERE. THEY LEARN WHERE THERE’S PROBLEMS. THEY LEARN WHERE THERE’S SUPPORT. SO THE OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD ARE PEOPLE WHO REALLY WANT LAW AND ORDER AND THEY WANT TO SUPPORT LAW ENFORCEMENT.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

NOW, WE’VE HEARD FROM YOUNG PEOPLE IN MILWAUKEE THAT SOMETIMES AN INFRACTION IN THE HALLWAY AT HIGH SCHOOL CAN LEAD TO CRIMINAL CHARGES AND THEN WHAT THEY CALL THIS KIND OF SO-CALLED SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE. HOW REAL IS THAT IN YOUR CITY?

ART HOWELL:

WELL, HERE’S WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO. WE UNDERSTAND THAT IF A PERSON GETS A CITATION FOR MARIJUANA POSSESSION OR WHATEVER THE CHARGE MIGHT BE, THAT COULD BE A SLIPPERY SLOPE THAT LEADS THEM TO A CRIMINAL JUSTICE, YOU KNOW, LIFESTYLE. AND SO WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS ACTUALLY WE’VE SCHEDULED OUR OFFICERS TO ATTEND TRAINING RELATIVE TO POLICING THE TEEN BRAIN. WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOUNG PEOPLE — AND THEIR MINDS AREN’T COMPLETELY DEVELOPED. WE WANT TO GIVE THEM OPPORTUNITIES TO NOT BECOME A PART OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. AND SO WE CERTAINLY DON’T WANT TO LOOK AWAY FROM ALL VIOLATIONS, BUT WE KNOW THAT WITHIN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WE HAVE SOME YOUNG PEOPLE WHO LIVE WITH MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES. SO WE JUST TO WANT MAKE SURE THAT WE’RE ZEROING IN ON THE PROBLEM SO WE DON’T TREAT ALL BEHAVIORAL ISSUES AS BEING CRIMINAL ISSUES.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

BECAUSE THERE’S KIND OF A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEENAGE HIGH JINX AND LEGIT CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. HOW DOES YOUR TRAINING ADDRESS THAT?

ART HOWELL:

ONCE AGAIN, THE C-O-P PHILOSOPHY IS SUCH IS THAT WE WANT TO PROBLEM SOLVE. IF I’M AT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND IF I SEE THAT A GIVEN SCHOOL HAS HAD SEVERAL FIGHTS WITH YOUNG FEMALES, WHAT WE WOULD DO IS — AS OPPOSED TO WAITING FOR MORE FIGHTS TO BREAK OUT — WE WOULD BRING IN COUNSELORS TO DEAL WITH THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE FIGHTS BETWEEN THE FEMALES. AND SO IT’S ALL ABOUT IDENTIFYING A GIVEN PROBLEM AT A GIVEN SCHOOL. AND AS OPPOSED TO ALWAYS RESPONDING FROM AN ENFORCEMENT STANDPOINT, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND WITH RESOURCES AND OTHER ALTERNATIVES.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

NOW, I UNDERSTAND THAT PART OF THE PLAN INVOLVES COLLECTING DATA ON INFRACTIONS COMMITTED ON SCHOOL PROPERTY AND THEN REPORTING THAT TO THE RACINE POLICE DEPARTMENT. WHAT IS THAT PIECE OF THE PLAN ABOUT?

ART HOWELL:

WELL, THE DATA HAS ALWAYS BEEN COLLECTED. WE KNOW EVERY YOUNG PERSON THAT HAS BEEN ARRESTED. WE ALREADY HAVE DATA ON THOSE PEOPLE. SO THE OBJECTIVE ISN’T TO GO INTO THE SCHOOLS TO OBTAIN DATA. WE ALREADY HAVE THE DATA. WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS WE WANT BE SMARTER WITH REGARD TO HOW WE RESPOND TO THE DATA. SO IF THERE’S A TREND IN ANY GIVEN SCHOOL, WHAT WE WOULD WANT TO DO IS WE WANT TO HAVE OUR OFFICERS FIGURE OUT WHAT’S THE ROOT CAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM. WHY DO WE HAVE MORE ARRESTS AT THIS SCHOOL THAN OTHER SCHOOLS? AND WHAT ARE THEY DOING RIGHT AT THE OTHER SCHOOLS THAT WE COULD LEARN FROM AS BEST PRACTICES TO BRING TO THE SCHOOLS WHERE THERE ARE LARGER PROBLEMS.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

HOW DO YOU THINK THAT THE COMMUNITY POLICING IN THE SCHOOLS WILL KIND OF BRING YOUNG PEOPLE CLOSER TO THE AUTHORITY; THAT IS, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT?

ART HOWELL:

THREE SIMPLE TERMS THAT WE LIKE TO USE IN COMMUNITY POLICING. THE FIRST IS PARTNERSHIPS. WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT CANNOT DO IT ALL ALONE, SO WE HAVE TO PARTNER WITH OTHER AGENCIES AND PARTNER WITH LAW-ABIDING PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY. THE SECOND IS RELATIONSHIPS AND THIS IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST ONE IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE THIRD. THE THIRD IS TRUST. AND SO PARTNERSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS AND TRUST. AND SO WHAT LOOKS DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER MODEL THAT YOU’LL SEE ACROSS THE NATION IS THAT OUR OFFICERS ARE IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM NOT SO MUCH AS AN ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM, MORE SO AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE ROOT CAUSES OF ISSUES ARE. PREVENT THEM SO THAT WE CAN CREATE A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT THAT’S CONDUCIVE FOR EVERYONE TO PROSPER.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

IS THIS APPROACH BEING USED ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE COUNTRY?

ART HOWELL:

NOT THAT WE KNOW OF AT THIS LEVEL. SO WHAT WE DO KNOW, BECAUSE WE LOOKED AT BEST PRACTICES ACROSS THE NATION. WE KNOW THAT THE SCHOOL RESOURCE MODEL HAS BEEN APPLIED. THE C-O-P MODEL IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT IN THAT WE WANT TO REPLICATE THE SUCCESS THAT WE’VE HAD AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL HERE IN RACINE WITH OUR COMMUNITY POLICING RESIDENTIAL LOCATIONS AND THAT HAS BEEN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL. WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE BUILD STRONG PARTNERSHIPS, STRONG RELATIONSHIPS AND TRUST. AND WE JUST SIMPLY WANT TO TRANSFER THAT SUCCESS TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

GREAT. FIRST IN THE NATION. CHIEF ART HOWELL, THANKS VERY MUCH.

ART HOWELL:

THANK YOU.