The Schubert Center for Child Studies is serving as a community partner for “Youth and Policing,” a session of the United Way of Greater Cleveland and the Cleveland Branch of NAACP’s monthly Community Conversations that address police reform mandated by the 2015 Consent Decree between the City of Cleveland and the United States Department of Justice. Schubert Center policy director Gabrielle Celeste will serve as a panelist, along with Zri Hitchcock, officer Brandon Tisdale, Timothy Tramble and chief Calvin Williams. Alex Stokes of Fox 8 News will moderate this free virtual event.
Police practices are often primarily in place to manage difficult interactions with adults and apply the same rules of force against children as they do for adults. Few police departments in the country have clear policies on how police should interact with children, but Cleveland is among the first in the country to enact specific rules in this area. The Cleveland policy will require that officers consider factors like the perceived age, physical build, and emotional state of anyone under 18 before using force. Policies focused on youth will support the community and problem-oriented policing values set forth in the Consent Decree.
This Community Conversation will take place Wednesday, Oct. 13, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. (ET). All members of the campus community are invited to participate. Register to attend.