San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer (far right) with
(from left) Detective Laura Sharp, Probation Chief John Keene,
and county mental health expert Linda Simonsen
(From left) Probation Services Manager Bob Reyes, Rancho Cielo
Executive Director Susie Brusa, Police Chief Kelly McMillin and
Salinas Community Safety Director Jose Arreola
the links between schools, probation,
and police to divert more youth to a new
multi-service center featuring mental
health services. ”We see too many of our
young people falling through the cracks
from school to the streets with disastrous
outcomes. Our officers see it every day.
The goal of our diversion effort is to help
develop a model that will identify opportunities to provide interventions away
from the criminal justice system and into
more positive outcomes for the youth
involved and for our community.”
Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin
says, “Giving police officers the training
to recognize low-level offenders and
providing them the tools to divert those
offenders into services and away from
the criminal justice system is a critical
component to a comprehensive diversion
program.” Chief McMillin adds, “In addition to reducing the number of system-involved youth, police officers engaging
in diversion programs will demonstrate
to the community that law enforcement
cares about long-term reductions in
youthful offenders, enhancing police
legitimacy within the community.”
Jim Bueermann, former Redlands
Susan Manheimer between
classes with fellow participants
Police Chief, and President of The Police
Foundation, met with the California team
and expressed interest in helping more
jurisdictions access training and technical
assistance on issues impacting police re-
“This is a wonderful
opportunity for
California law
enforcement to develop
new strategies for youth
they encounter who
may be engaged in the
juvenile justice system.”
lationships with youth and their families.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for
California law enforcement to develop
new strategies for youth they encounter
who may be engaged in the juvenile jus-
tice system. We expect the results of these
positive interventions to show positive
benefits to our youth and the three communities participating, with the goal of
reducing the load on our juvenile justice
systems.” Jim describes the goals of this
project as consistent with the mission of
The Police Foundation: “The Police Foundation sees this work as one of the best
ways to improve police legitimacy and
build trust in any community by providing effective supports to youth and their
families through close partnerships with
health and education partners.”
Jurisdictions interested in attending
future trainings are encouraged to visit
the Georgetown site at cjjr.georgetown.
edu. For tips on raising funds to support
training costs, please contact Barrie Becker, a consultant to The Police Foundation
on this project and Director of Special
Projects for Fight Crime Invest in Kids.
Barrie explains, “Given solid research
pointing to the educational, health and
public safety benefits of diverting youth
out of the juvenile and criminal justice
systems, many policy-makers and philanthropists are interested in supporting
future juvenile diversion work.” ■
FALL 2014 | California Police Chief
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