Police Mentoring: Moving Toward Police Legitimacy

Children who lack appropriate role models in their lives are more likely to fail academically, more likely to become involved in the criminal justice system, and less likely to achieve vocationally and emotionally. Mentoring programs have shown effective results in overcoming many of the risk factors that plague today's youth. Community policing has provided the bedrock upon which innovative and life-changing programs can be funded and implemented to focus on solutions to real world problems, while providing intervention where it is needed the most. Police as mentors is the next logical step in the community policing continuum and can function as an effective and efficient method of instilling legitimacy to police officers, departments, and the law enforcement profession.