In the City of Newburgh, the relationship between the police and the youth can be negative or positive. With programs like the Youth and Police Initiative [YPI], youth can form a stronger understanding of the police.
For the city’s youth, YPI isn’t just an opportunity to be educated. It’s an opportunity to bond with one another and grow. On Dec. 23, YPI had their 31st class graduation at the Newburgh Recreation Department.
“We’ve been doing this since 2011,” said Isabel Rojas of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and one of the YPI trainers. “It’s such a shift when you see the kids on the second or third day just interacting with the officers and having that comfort level; it just changes things.”
The focus of YPI is to alleviate tension between community members and the police. “We’re telling the kids, it’s not a snitching program,” emphasized Rojas. “It’s more for you [participants] to ask questions [about the police department and crime].”
The hope is that neighborhood youth can develop a comfortable enough relationship where they can greet officers, talk to officers, and even recruit their peers to join YPI. Participants are found via recommendations, references from other groups, and beyond.
“The program is designed to bridge the gap between the youth and the community,” said City of Newburgh Police Officer Daniel Delicio. “To show them the police are people. But once they go through the program, students are more comfortable with the police department and how it works.”
The program is run by Delicio, City of Newburgh Police Officer Dellauno Thomas, Rojas, and Jorge Retamar of the Youth Advocacy Program [YAP].
The most recent YPI class was special, as for the first time ever, a parent sat through the program with their child. Jo Marie Williams sat through the program with her son, Danyal. Initially Williams didn’t know much about YPI, only to later be pleasantly surprised by the program’s impact.
“It was an excellent, wonderful experience for myself,” said Williams. “The police department, as you already know, doesn’t necessarily have a good reputation. It [YPI] actually teaches our children how to conduct themselves; what to say or do, if they’re ever stopped by the police, or even to know to go to the police for certain things. It enlightened me on a whole lot of things.”
Despite strong approval from the community, with recent layoffs, the program’s future is still uncertain. Thomas was recently added to the controversial 2020 layoff list of 14 police officers. Although YPI is a state funded program, staffing comes from the local level.
“What people have to take into consideration is that the man power is low now,” said Rojas. “We don’t know what the future is. We’re hoping that we’re going to have the program, but it’s just the man power thing.”
Monday was Thomas’ last day with the program. Covering his pain with a bright smile, Thomas congratulated students on completing the program. Even with his impending layoff, Thomas still is determined to be involved with community programs like YPI.
Thomas has been with the department for the past two years. Growing up in Newburgh, he aspired to be an officer and help the community that raised him. To him, YPI is a “family.”
“Right now, with the situation [being part of the layoff list], [I feel] upset,” said Thomas. “But with the YPI program [‘s graduation], I feel happy.”
“It’s a hard time,” said Thomas. “But being around people you are friends with, that you’ve got to know, these kids, helps with that. So, this is awesome. I love doing stuff like this. This is why I wanted to become a police officer.”
“Cuts in funding, and man power seriously inhibit our ability to do these extracurricular type programs,” said City of Newburgh Police Chief Doug Solomon. “Much less staff for the shifts to properly just patrol the streets and do the duties we have to do. There’s funding in our GIVE [Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education] grant for this program, but we still need officers to do it.”