St. Paul Police Rewarding Kids In Partnership With YWCA

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - St. Paul police have taken up a new assignment--a new way to help children in need.

The department has teamed up with the YWCA for the "Youth Achievers" program.

The after-school care program has been mentoring at-risk children and teens in St. Paul since 1990.

Police hope young people will see them as a friend, rather than a foe.

When St. Paul police first came to the Youth Achievers program two weeks ago, students were timid.

"The kids in our community are generally afraid of the officers in uniform," said Danielle Taylor, the YWCA's chief program officer. "This gives them the opportunity to have a positive impact."

The police department has teamed up with the mentorship program--which has been in place for more than two decades--to help give kids ages 8 to 14 a safe, positive environment where they can learn and play.

"It's a great opportunity for our officers to connect with the kids in the community," said Todd Axtell, the St. Paul Police Department's assistant chief.

Officers help tally up kids' "points" that they earn from doing activities like homework, computer lab assignments and baking.

"We do enrichment activities," Taylor said. "So today, for instance, it smells like cinnamon or Cinnabon in here, so we're doing some cooking."

St Paul police officers will come every week to help students cash in their points for prizes to help reward good behavior.

Prizes range from candy and cards to hygiene products and school notebooks.

One little girl said she was a saver, not a spender.

"I don't want to spend all my points," she said.

Police involvement in the Youth Achievers Program is also an experiment to see if making positive relationships with youth today will help them build a better tomorrow.

"With a lot of distrust going on between community and police, this is a great opportunity," Axtell said.

Taylor agreed.

The goal, she said, is "to get these kids to succeed and have the opportunity to learn something and have these caring relationships and move forward."