Cops aren’t the only ones taking notice. Coaches from local junior colleges have started to seek out and offer scholarships to PAL players, and one 6’7” athlete is now under contract in an NBA program that develops players for the draft. “Giving them that exposure means opportunities,” Wunsch said. It also means a shift in outlook. “I have kids that play for us that aren’t the biggest fans of police or the justice system,” Wunsch said. But after spending time with their coach, who often spends hours a day picking up and driving players to practice, the kids’ perspectives change. “They see that cops aren’t that bad,” Wunsch said. But what if police could develop positive relationships even more preemptively, while kids are still young? That’s the call Officer Mary Roestenberg tries to answer. After getting numerous inquiries from the community about a safe place to go trick-or-treating, she helped develop an annual Halloween festival that draws about 1,500 people to the Mountain View precinct. “Families come, and kids are dressed in costume,” she said. “We do a trunk- or-treat and have a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, movie area, ice cream truck and DJ. Everything is free, and the food is provided.” When she isn’t making friends with little ghouls and goblins, Roestenberg is making inroads with middle-school kids. “I identified that, at this impactful stage, you either lose them or you bring them on board,” she said. Twice a year, Roestenberg attempts to do the latter by giving 25 kids an in-depth look at law enforcement via the Youth Police Experience program. Over the course of a week, youths go on field trips to the police academy, watch the dive team do search and rescue, see a helicopter from the air unit perform a takeoff and landing, and meet members of the bomb squad, SWAT team and — the perennial favorite — the K9 unit. “Some of the kids are amazed at what there is to do in law enforcement,” Roestenberg said. “We focus on teamwork and building relationships, not just with the kids in class but with officers as well.” 22 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | OCTOBER 2019 22 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | OCTOBER 2019 “Some of the kids are amazed at what there is to do in law enforcement. We focus on teamwork and building relationships, not just with the kids in class but with officers as well.” YOUTH POLICE EXPERIENCE Officer Mary Roestenberg

Older kids interested in law-enforcement careers can take part in the Cadet program, which provides youths between 14 and 21 opportunities for community service and training. “We do about 5,000 hours of community service with them, including things like memorials, funerals and helping with the PPD Museum and Special Olympics,” said Officer Jamie Brooks, one of three officers who works with the program. In addition, the youths receive academic and hands-on training on everything from handcuffing to defensive tactics to crime-scene investigation. Meanwhile, the Cadet honor guard takes part in events like Diamondbacks games, and the translation squad assists with court-based translation. “They do all this for free in exchange for the education, opportunity and camaraderie that we have within the program,” Brooks said. Plus, with their specialized training and knowledge of police work, the youths emerge with solid skills when they apply for jobs, said Officer David Barrios, who works with the Cadet program. “Within the four years I’ve been here, we’ve had at least four people go to the United States Marine Corps, four go to the United States Army, and two go to the National Guard. One went to the Coast Guard and somewhere between eight and 10 of our cadets became a city employee within the police department. And we now have two that are currently in the police academy,” he said. Studies show that intervention programs like these help prevent absenteeism at school and reduce crime in the community. “Youth having too much time on their hands and not enough parental supervision is not a good recipe. It’s a sidestep for us to go in there and recruit them,” said Sgt. Hosfield. “We can lower our crime rates and make our communities safer by teaching kids in those crucial years that the choices they’re making now can affect them for the rest of their lives.” “With their specialized training and knowledge of police work, the youths emerge with solid skills when they apply for jobs.” CADET PROGRAM Officer David Barrios