BOULDER, Colo. — Boulder police are inviting some of the city's young people to their department Thursday night for an open house to meet officers and learn more about policing.
It's part of the city's Youth Opportunities Advisory Board (YOAB), made up of 16 high school students, all appointed by the city manager.
However, you don't have to be on the board to attend the open house.
It's for kids ages 13 to 18, and they'll get the chance to tour the department, meet officers and learn more about their career, plus Boulder's approach to public safety.
"I think it's a great opportunity for better understanding and better connection and really authentic relationship building over a long period of time," Jenn Ciplet, communications manager for the City of Boulder, said.
The event is from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Last month, Boulder's YOAB and police officers hosted a teen town hall to discuss young people's experience with public safety.
The coalition organizing these events was born out of the city's Reimagine Policing Plan.
Boulder
'Reimagine Policing Plan' garners unanimous support from Boulder City Council
In September, Boulder City Council unanimously voted in the new policing strategy, as the city reported an uptick in violent crime.
The city contracted The National Policing Institute to help understand how policing in Boulder has been perceived — a process that spanned 19 months. Results showed 59% of participants believe Boulder police are doing well dealing with problems in their neighborhood. One hundred percent of participants said officers treated them politely.
While Boulder Police Department Commander Barry Hartkopp said the numbers reaffirmed his belief that officers are living up to the high level of professionalism he knew they had, there's always room for improvement in other areas.
The "Reimagine Policing Plan" hopes to take a more holistic approach to fighting crime, focusing less on incarceration and more on getting officers out into the community.
"Policing has always been a heated topic,” Madelyn Barnes, who's on the Youth Opportunities Advisory Board, said in a news release from the City of Boulder. “Before starting this work, I realized that I needed to enter the situation with an open mind. I was elated when the officers did the same thing. Every single officer and Boulder Police Department member we spoke with received our information and opinions with non-judgmental acceptance. I had no idea it would be so easy to discuss my thoughts and perspective of being a teen with the officers, but I’m glad it was.”
