Students learn tips for encounters with law enforcement

PELHAM — Members of the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office, the Pelham Police Department, the Georgia State Patrol, the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office participated in the STYLE (Successful Tips for Youth on Law Enforcement Encounters) program last week at Mae Eanes Middle School in Pelham.

According to officials, STYLE is a program designed to bridge the gap between youths and members of law enforcement in order to foster a positive relationship in the community.

“While everyone is sitting around talking about the problems of law enforcement encounters with our youth,” said Kirven Lang, Principal of Mae Eanes Middle School, “STYLE offers a solution to this nationwide problem.”

Administrators say they hope that, in addition to building relationships, the program will also teach young people how to have a positive encounter with law enforcement if they are ever faced with such a situation.

“STYLE actually started in Alabama. The FBI wanted to get a program together for the youth who may or may not have had interactions with law enforcement before and really show the many different sides of law enforcement,” said FBI Senior Agent Robert Mathews. “We wanted to show what the law enforcement officers go through in investigations and in interactions during different scenarios. That is why today these kids are being put through a variety of situations that will actually allow them to step in the feet of a law enforcement officer. So going through these scenarios, they are able to feel what it is actually like and hopefully learn from it.

“In one part of the program, we are showing them some videos and discussing what they may see or may not see in that situation. We want them to understand that you really have to make sure that you have all of the facts before a decision is made, especially with social media today. If all you have is what you saw on TV or a video clip, that may not be the whole entire story. That is why we are showing them different angles of some different scenarios that will then give them the whole picture as to what is really going on.”

According to law enforcement participants, many students have never had a first-hand encounter with law enforcement and their perceptions of police officers are based solely on what they have been told or what they have seen in the media. Often, those are perceptions of negativity or fear.

“Most of our kids have never had a real encounter with the police, so the only thing they know or think they know is what they’ve seen on TV,” said counselor Tyler Autry. “The kids took a survey before the program to see what their thoughts about police were, and they have taken a post survey. The kids have really enjoyed the program, and the biggest thing that I am hearing from them is that they don’t know what the police officers are thinking and the police officers don’t know what the kids are thinking. This has given the kids some insight into why police officers have to do the things that they do, why they ask the questions that they ask and how to handle themselves if they are ever around officers.”

According to Pelham Police Chief Nealie McCormick, the media, particularly more recent coverage of violent race-related issues, have had a tremendous influence on these middle school students.

“You can tell by the survey that television and media have really influenced them a lot,” said McCormick. “Many of them have never had any experience with law enforcement personnel, and they think that police just shoot people.”

To change this perception and help youths understand the diverse and often dangerous situations that police officers deal with on a daily basis, students were immersed in a variety of mock scenarios such as a traffic stop, a home encounter and a street encounter, which were carefully designed to show right and wrong ways of dealing with law enforcement.

“This younger generation has an almost entitled, no-respect-type attitude where they don’t believe the rules are made for them,” said Officer Asia Johnson. “They have a ‘rules are meant to be broken and I don’t respect authority’ mentality. If you don’t respect authority, first off, inside of your own home or they’re not taught to respect authority inside of their home, then they get into school and they’re not going to respect teachers. They get on the street and they don’t respect police. We have an entire generation of kids, teenagers and young adults who believe the rules don’t apply to them. Unfortunately, to live in this world, you are going to have to follow society’s rules.”

A firearms training simulator allowed students to experience a use-of-force situation, during which life and death decisions have to be made within seconds by law enforcement.

“A simple encounter, if not handled properly, can escalate into dangerous situation quickly,” said McCormick

During a luncheon round-table, students and law enforcement personnel were able to get to know each other and further discuss the demonstration scenarios. Additionally, students were provided a legal overview on the use of force and equipped with an understanding of the proper way of filing a civil rights complaint should they ever feel that their rights were violated during a law enforcement encounter.

“Throughout the country there has been a change in the view of law enforcement, and this is a program that we are hoping to do the community outreach so that many people who have not had interactions with law enforcement can see that we are not here to just put people in jail, but that we are here to help the community,” said Mathews.

For more information visit www.justice,gov/usao-mdga.