Raleigh police engage with youth, families at summit to address rise in violence
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Amid an uptick in youth violence in Raleigh, and across the country, the Raleigh Police Department is working to find many different solutions to the multifaceted issue.
One tactic is engaging with young people and their parents. They made an effort to do that Saturday at the 2024 Youth Summit at the Marsh Creek Community Center.
"It is always important to us that we meet them where they are," Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson told ABC11.
She also added RPD collaborated with young people before the summit to ensure they provided relevant information to kids and their families, as well as delivering it in a way that was easy to understand.
Between Raleigh-native DJ J Will and comedian Tony Neville participating in the event, the goal was to make this event as fun as it was informative.
"It gives us as a police department, the opportunity to talk to our young people about the importance of not being in gangs, not being around violence," Chief Patterson said. "If you're around individuals that are going down that path of doing something wrong, please stay away from it, and also too to report things as you're seeing it."
It is always important to us that we meet them where they are.Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson
They held sessions on a variety of life skills, like time management, stress management and how to excel in different career fields.
Our crew spoke with 16-year-old Courtney Gunter after attending a financial literacy session.
"It taught me a lot about my credit, how to financially budget my time, my money, how to invest in different things, how to pay back credit, and just be like financially stable," Gunter said. "So when I get into the real world, I can manage my money (well) and be successful in life."
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Gunter's mother, Christie Jones, said she learned a lot about modeling positive habits for her daughter. She believes one of her biggest takeaways was learning a more effective approach to resolving conflicts as a parent.
"We sometimes get passionate about what we want to see how our kids do, and who we want them to be," she said, "but look at it as a teaching moment and not a punitive moment, is what was said, but a corrective moment."
Chief Patterson said: "We're not going to tell parents how to be parents, but we're just telling them about the important things that we're seeing now."
This means discussing trends seen in the community as well as what young people are facing or dealing with, especially from a criminal perspective.
We also spoke with youth mentor Mo Johnson, who attended some sessions. She believes that events like this can positively impact the community by facilitating positive encounters between young people and the police, while also teaching important life skills.
"I think they're very excited about what they're learning, and I think it's going to go from the conference and the summit, back into the homes, and I think that will also transition into schools," Johnson said.
Teens like Gunter said they left the event with a positive impression of Raleigh Police.
"RPD is here for you, and they're on your side, and they're here to support you," she said.
Gunter said they are not here to tear down young people, but to build them up.
Our Tamara Scott also participated in a panel during the 2024 Raleigh Youth Summit.
If you want more information on how to engage with Raleigh Police, click here.
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