Recently, schools across Columbus have begun a new initiative known as the Teen and Police Service Program (TAPS). A program designed to help foster better relationships between Columbus police officers and at-risk students within the community.
In the past year or so, tensions between the police force and minority groups, prominently African Americans, have risen dramatically, primarily stemming from the George Floyd protests last summer and the social Black Lives Matter movement.
Children and teens rarely feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods, especially when the police are around. This new initiative was introduced by Mayor Andrew Ginther to help bridge the gap and make the children feel safe again.
For the first time, these at-risk teens met their mentors who are Columbus Police officers. Almost 100 students, some as young as eleven, from the Columbus City School engaged in fun activities and educational tasks with their fellow police mentors.
Initially some students like Stanford Walker, a 15-year-old Africentric student, were afraid and nervous about the whole idea.
“I feel uncomfortable like I don’t know, they just give me a weird vibe," Walker said.
But after interacting with the officers his mind changed and he thought they were pretty cool. It’s only been a few months and the program is already producing great results. Reimagining the police in a more positive light could not be accomplished without steps like this being taken.
With more initiatives like this, at-risk children, teens, and even adults can begin to form new, secure relationships with members of the law enforcement.