For the past 8 ½ years, I have been policing in an urban area. Now, I grew up living in low income apartments my entire life, but what I have experienced while policing in this urban area has shocked me to say the least.

Many of the encounters between youth and police, while I was on patrol, could have gone a lot smoother and easier for both sides if both parties would have had a better understanding of what to expect from each other. As we all know, George 'Doc' Thompson created the tactical 8 step as a way of communicating with subjects when stopped by the police. What I have found is that the tactical 8 step should be the gold standard when initiating any contact. It is very simple, but yet very powerful. Let me explain.

So I am on patrol in one of the roughest neighborhoods in our city, it's 10:30 pm and there was a small group of kids hanging on the corner. These kids were all young black males (approximately 12-15 years old). I am a 30 year old white rookie cop who did not grow up in this neighborhood. Fortunately for me, I have had a lot of experiences with different races and cultures while growing up so I was particularly comfortable talking to anybody. (I will talk about this more in a future blog). But what I wasn't sure of was how these kids were going to deal with the fact that I was a white cop in full uniform interrupting their time on the street corner. I knew I had to make contact, but I was not sure how it was going to turn out.

I approached the group and all three boys turn toward me at once. It was time to put up or shut up. I instantly remembered back to my training in Tactical Communications, but I knew I couldn't sound so scripted with these boys or they would eat me alive. I knew I had to approach them in a calm and 'normal' matter.

I started off with a greeting. "What's up fellas? How's your night?" (Step one). I could tell this immediately took them by surprise. I wasn't sure why at first, but later on I found out that they never heard an officer approach them and say "Hey, how's your night?" All three of them looked like they just saw a ghost. They all responded, "Fine." After I greeted them, I continued immediately and said, "I'm Officer Singleton from the Milwaukee Police Department." I could see that that made them a little uncomfortable. I started off on their level, but immediately went into professional mode asserting my authority. I quickly followed up with, "But you can call me Bill." They all smiled and felt relaxed. (Step Two).

I told them, "The reason why I stopped to talk with you was because I received a complaint of three black males dealing drugs on the corner. Do you know anything about that?" I could tell that that statement made them a little nervous, but also relieved. They knew they weren't doing anything wrong and they could tell that I was open enough to listen to their side of the story. I had no reason, other than the complaint, to suspect they were dealing drugs but I wanted to be safe. I instructed them to keep their hands out of their pockets (for my safety and theirs) and that I had a few more questions regarding the investigation. (Step Three).

It is crucial to point out here that step three is very important because of the transparency of the stop. Ask yourself this question, if an officer stopped you and never told you why he stopped you and then either arrested you or let you go wouldn't you feel completely confused? Angry? Frustrated? Why not diffuse those possible feelings immediately by being transparent with the youth and telling them exactly why we are stopping them?

From my experiences, the youth always seem to be more willing to engage in conversation with you if you tell them up front why you are stopping them. The anxiety level will immediately decrease (for both parties) and a sense of trust and openness will begin to take over.

After I told the kids why I stopped them, I immediately followed up with "Is there any justifiable reason for you being out on the corner?" The kids immediately began by saying that they just got outside and were on their way to the corner store for some chips. They told me they saw a few boys earlier in the night, but that they had left about 30 minutes ago. I appreciated their candid response and I sensed that they were telling the truth. (Step Four).

At this point, I wanted to know who they were for a couple of reasons. This was my squad area. If there were going to be ongoing problems in this neighborhood, I wanted to make sure I knew the names of the kids who were causing the trouble and the names of the kids who were not. Plus, every time I saw these kids now I could yell out their names and make our contacts more personal. I like to bring the personal touch to each contact to show the kids that I truly care. I want to know where they live. The names of their brothers and sisters. The schools they attend and what they like to do at night. I like to take ownership in my squad area and bring a sense of trust and security to the neighborhood. I asked them, "Do you have any identification that I can see?" None of them had identification, but they were more than willing to provide me with their names, addresses, phone numbers and parent's information. I think it was because I explained to them why I wanted the information and what I intended to do with it. (Step Five).

After I received their information, my partner ran wanted checks just to be thorough police. Obviously all three came back with clean records. But I wasn't finished. I had just made my first initial contact with juveniles in an urban area. I wanted them to know that I was going to be around and that they could count on me if they needed me. I had business cards made and I handed each of them a personal business card with my personal cell phone on the card. After all, if I was going to be policing this area for my career I better start making a lot of friends in this area in case I need them some day. I never understood making a lot of enemies before making friends. (Step Six).

After we finished checking to see if the boys were wanted, I told them they were free to go. I wanted to make sure that they understood why they were stopped and if they had any questions. They said they completely understood and they thanked me for being so open with them. (Step Seven). I told them that I appreciated the conversation and that I hoped to see them around. I told them to be safe and enjoy their night. (Step Eight).

Now, this is just one example out of hundreds that I have with stopping youth in an urban setting. I personally feel that using the Tactical 8 Step approach will assist you in your communication with the youth. It will guide you through the process. How you interact with them is your choice. I choose to personalize each stop. I like to make jokes or reference something in pop culture to show the kids that I am human. It seems to take the edge off of an initially stressful situation for both parties.

So, let's review the tactical 8 step: 1. Greeting 2. Identify self / department 3. Reason for the stop 4. Justifiable reason 5. Request identification 6. Additional Information 7. Decision stage 8. Closure

The goal is to decrease the chances of having an initial hostile interaction with the youth by utilizing the tactical 8 step approach. I challenge each of you to begin using this method and to let me know your success stories.9044