California Police Chief- Fall 2013 CPCA_2017_Winter Magazine Final | Page 21

dispatcher tells me the perp is wearing jeans and a black t-shirt,
well, lots of people wear jeans and black tees. I have to proceed
with caution because my life — and yours — may be on the line.”
Another officer shared his personal struggles balanc-
ing kindness with doing his job to keep schools safe. He
said, “We give youth clothes, food . . . because we want to help
them succeed. But one time when I broke up a fight, I was on
the ground wrestling one of the students off the other, another
student came and kicked me in the eye, fracturing my eye socket,
almost ending my career.”
The CYCLE curriculum incorporates group activities,
interactive exercises with facilitated discussion on import-
ant topics such as adolescent brain development, de-escala-
tion skills, implicit bias and trauma-informed response.
While still quite new, there have been early indicators
of success. When surveyed, youth participants reported
that the dialogue did change the way they viewed law en-
forcement in their communities. Officers from all agencies
indicated that the experience will be helpful in their daily
interactions with youth in the communities they serve.
“In the end, we hope to encourage more positive inter-
actions between officers and young people, and opening up
the channels of communications is a good first step in that
process,” said Shanks. “The ability to de-escalate personal
conflicts and foster positive relationships with the public is
perhaps one of the best crime-fighting tools around.”
PTI has presented the CYCLE curriculum in com-
munities across the United States, including four sites in
California and is currently wrapping up the second cohort
of training. After this round, PTI will conduct an exten-
sive evaluation process to measure both immediate and
long-term outcomes of the program. If you would like to
bring the CYCLE training to your department, contact John
Shanks at 202-253-4516.  ■
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WINTER 2017 | California Police Chief
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