MEMPHIS, TN -
(WMC-TV) – A brand new team of crime fighters met with police Thursday. Their goal? To reduce violence and other problems plaguing Memphis teenagers.
Instead of reading, writing, and arithmetic, students met with the inflatable character Sgt. Biggs and other officers to take part in a new program aimed at reducing crime.
"I believe this program will reach out and help a lot of these teens who are dealing with problems," said sophomore Mikayla Richardson.
The program is called Memphis Youth Crime Watch.
The key to the program is that the students will run it, they will organize it, and be a key factor in its success.
Police officers are working with students to give them the motivation and guidance to go back to their schools and neighborhoods and use their influence and education to reduce crime and violence.
"For instance, show them how to resolve conflicts, which is one of the topics they are going to be discussing. Conflict resolution," said Lt. Tyrone Currie, Memphis Police Department.
In the coming weeks, the students will work to come up with innovative ways to encourage others to stay away from crime.
"We want them to influence the basketball players, their peers, 'Hey, it's OK to be an intelligent student, it's OK to do what's right,'" added Lt. Currie.
Mikayla Richardson is eager to get started. She turned her life around and she thinks her teen group can help many others.
"A lot of the time we don't know how to get out of the situation where we are in trouble a lot and we always go to the guns and fights and to violence and this is like a non-violence program," she said.
Right now, the program is in the process of recruiting more teens.
Copyright 2013 WMC-TV.
(WMC-TV) – A brand new team of crime fighters met with police Thursday. Their goal? To reduce violence and other problems plaguing Memphis teenagers.
Instead of reading, writing, and arithmetic, students met with the inflatable character Sgt. Biggs and other officers to take part in a new program aimed at reducing crime.
"I believe this program will reach out and help a lot of these teens who are dealing with problems," said sophomore Mikayla Richardson.
The program is called Memphis Youth Crime Watch.
The key to the program is that the students will run it, they will organize it, and be a key factor in its success.
Police officers are working with students to give them the motivation and guidance to go back to their schools and neighborhoods and use their influence and education to reduce crime and violence.
"For instance, show them how to resolve conflicts, which is one of the topics they are going to be discussing. Conflict resolution," said Lt. Tyrone Currie, Memphis Police Department.
In the coming weeks, the students will work to come up with innovative ways to encourage others to stay away from crime.
"We want them to influence the basketball players, their peers, 'Hey, it's OK to be an intelligent student, it's OK to do what's right,'" added Lt. Currie.
Mikayla Richardson is eager to get started. She turned her life around and she thinks her teen group can help many others.
"A lot of the time we don't know how to get out of the situation where we are in trouble a lot and we always go to the guns and fights and to violence and this is like a non-violence program," she said.
Right now, the program is in the process of recruiting more teens.
Copyright 2013 WMC-TV.
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