I want to begin by asking you an honest
question you don’t have to raise your
hands if you’re not comfortable with
that but just want to engage in a little
bit of a conversation I many of you have
walked into a school with a pair of
scissors how many of you maybe walked in
school or got into a conversation with
your teacher or administrator or someone
who’s in authority and maybe have talked
back to that person how many of you may
have been in school and got into a small
altercation with someone in school and
had a conflict with another student in
school so here’s how that works before
1994 in the mid 1990s we all know what
happened the majority of those kids
would happen we would go down to our
principal or disciplinarian and they
would give us some demerits or they
would give you in school out-of-school
suspension now I started out in
elementary school in Catholic school I
went to public school system so we were
told to go to the third floor and see
the nun and usually on the third floor
was the biggest nun in the convent and
she had a yardstick that looked like it
was six feet not three feet and all of
you who come from that setting knows
what happens let’s fast forward now into
the 1994 1995 the gun-free act the
federal gun-free Act is put in place and
now we start to make this transition
where we’re going to put police officers
in our schools we’re going to start
addressing what was normal adolescent
behavior now is going to now require
policing so you know coming in school
with the scissors under the gun-free act
say listen we all understand that having
a gun in school does anyone want a gun
in school I don’t have gun in here right
now but when did a gun become a scissors
or that Cub Scout knife that you did you
like to carry and so we move into this
process where we start to have this you
know this process of school with the
Prison Pipeline
you know arresting our kids our school
now that’s just a part of it you know
the other part is we won’t talk about it
suspensions and explosives and that is
also a driver but for today we talk
about you know the school to Prison
Pipeline and zero tolerance in our
schools and we’re no longer going and
we’re not going to deal with the issues
that drive that and where that’s coming
from we’re not going to deal with the
issues that when we arrest a child that
you know their potential of going on to
college the collateral consequences that
goes with that is significant it is
significant we are and when we look at
this issue we also have to look at the
issue around racial racial disparity the
majority of the kids across this nation
or who are being arrested or
african-american Latino kids in some
cases two to three times they’re white
student counterpart why is that why is
everywhere I go across this nation that
is the current is a conversation that we
need to be having it’s a conversation
that needs to be brought to the top so
here’s how I believe I believe that
normal adolescent behavior kids should
be given a second chance
stick for a minute and because by not
arresting those kids we have the
potential to improve them and prove
their academics improve their social
part of that and their well-being and we
can do that both regionally locally and
across this nation you know when I think
about my the process for me you know I
was as you heard a Deputy Commissioner
to fill up the police department for
over two almost 29 years I was in the
police department I retired January of
last year when I moved on to take over
the school diversion program in the city
of Philadelphia which we work together
and it’s a because if we’re going to
deal with this issue around the school
to Prison Pipeline it will be a multi
prong approach it’s going to require all
of us in this room to engage and so we
became as a collective group that
decided that if let me think about this
if we train our officers around
adolescent development if we train our
officers around behavioral health if we
give them tools to be able to do
something with a child differently than
arrest them give them a second chance
that we could change the trajectory of
that child moving forward and so you
know oftentimes there’s this myth
there’s this myth that our young kids
are out there just engaged in so much
violence I mean if you look at the media
and you look at the news
you listen to legislator running and the
kids are out there just doing all this
crazy crime you know for those in the
room we’ve been around the super
predator who was supposed to be coming
he or she never arrived and so you know
I put that your doubt up on the screen
you see the dot you say what is that
you know what that dot represents that
dot represents the number of kids in
across this nation who get involved in
violent crime that sea of black that you
see is a ninety five percent of the kids
across this nation who get involved in
non violent crime a large percentage
that is just minor crimes and in that
ninety five percent in all of that is
what we know that there’s poverty in our
communities some people don’t want to
address that variable we know that
there’s asperities in our community we
know that many of these kids come from
violent homes poverty and all kinds of
issues in their homes and oftentimes we
put up this the shell as if it doesn’t
exist see here here’s the thing people
ask you why are you in this space why do
you want why do you talk about young
people yeah I talk about young people
because I could be valve you take that
slide back I could be them
you’re my mother raised four boys my
father left when we were babies young
kids early is five years old left my
mother with four boys I remember those
days coming home when there was no gas I
remember those days when there was no
electricity I remember coming home one
time and the truck is there and they
take all of our furniture and put it in
this truck in it and they take it away
all my mother’s stuff and our trophies
never to see it again
so I remember it but guess what ladies
and gentlemen I had people in my life to
help me to give me a chance I think
about my godparents who stepped in to be
parents to me and my godfather oh who
took me into a small business and heavy
work after school I remember those
coaches those teachers those
administrators all those people in
school who helped me and who gave me
respect who gave me
so I put that picture of me up on the
screen cuz you know what I love school
it was a place when things were crazy I
had a good house don’t get me I was poor
but my mother made a good house but I
got on that bus because school was a
place where I wanted to be and school
was a place where I could could survive
and move on you know that was that place
for me you know I meant to say in the
opening and I bring it back because
it-it’s too important to miss but listen
ladies and gentleman I didn’t become a
cop to lock up children become a cop to
take a ten year old child and put him
and her in a car and take him away
it’s not why I came into this business
and that’s why it’s so important that I
believe policing has such a significant
role and bring about this change so as I
move through my life and I go on to
school I go on to college let me tell
you I didn’t do too well you know so I
flunk out of college and I go back and
get my degrees later on but I leave
school and I go back in the community
but I’m blessed to be able to come on
the police department cuz I get a chance
to come on the police department from
that process on I move through the ranks
and the last seven years I served as
deputy commissioner in the police
department but over the last five years
of my time and I became that immersed in
juvenile justice I needed to know what
was going on with our young people
what were the drivers what is the trauma
that wasn’t impacting our young people
and we’re a resume and avoiding that
because here’s the thing it’s one thing
of a asked a child what did you do let
me change that question what happened to
you what happened what happened to you
all too often when we ask that question
as we get so many different answers you
know as a result of that I was fortunate
through the supports of the Philadelphia
Police Department Commissioner Ross who
was a phenomenal Police Commission of
Philadelphia and his prior Commissioner
Ramsey working with Department of Human
Services on the Commissioner Figueroa
and her team working with the school
district as part of this process and
part of my stony foundation has given me
the opportunity in the foundation to
work in this pool to space full time
let’s say we can do something different
how do we do that differently we created
a program to say you know when we go
into school
we’re not gonna arrest that child matter
of fact we’re not gonna put them in
cuffs we’re gonna have social workers
Department of Human Services social
workers who do a phenomenal job go into
those homes and see what’s going on in
those houses for those of you in this
space you know what’s going on in those
houses when we get behind those doors we
see all of that trauma you know no gas
no electric all the things I talked
about exist in those homes and they work
with those families that get them on
back home track we working with those
families to help them through this
process and as a result we’re having
amazing results so let me show you my
results
we went from a school district that was
locking up almost 1,600 kids a year
majority-owned for those minor
adolescent offenses and said we know
what if we’re giving these kids a second
chance and let’s see how it works as you
see we went to a system they did almost
500 60 and 64 percent reduction and
school arrests since the tooth wave 2014
when we started this process 1,400 kids
are now been diverted who are not
getting arrested who have no paperwork
no collateral consequences of that
arrest you know what it’s also exciting
two other things we have officers in the
Philip your Police Department who worked
the schools who are the ambassadors for
this program and I could be no more
proud of them because they go into
eighty percent of those officers say you
know what else we need to be doing that
stuff across the nation we need to be
doing that stuff across the state this
is too good they keep it in Philadelphia
we all should be doing this across the
process and here’s the oath mother most
other siding part when we get into those
homes we don’t have a judge telling us
that you have to do anything we don’t go
in there with any stick we go in there
in the Department of Human Services
social workers do a great job of going
there talking to those family building
trust with those families and 90% of
those families will engage why because
they need help and when you bring that
to the doorstep in a respectful way
you’ll be amazed and shocked how people
will respond maze and shop again ladies
and gentlemen it’s all about a second
chance and so there’s a quote here and
says change is the only thing we dislike
more than things staying the same you
all can relate to that
we want to change it it takes courage
you know sometimes you heard these
conversations from these amazing
speakers it takes courage to start to
move into that space because I believe
we can be the change agents in this
process from a policing perspective it
can be those change aces because we can
dismantle the school that price school
to Prison Pipeline and it has to be done
working in a constructive way and so I
make this message to across the board I
say to the Chiefs and in law enforcement
across this nation that you are the
change agent as I have been and we have
become that if you go into the space 85%
of the kids who come into the criminal
justice system come in by police if we
change if our Chiefs and our law
enforcement officers start to understand
that we can deal with the root issues of
these young people’s issues problems and
they won’t come back isn’t that the
better equation you know to my service
providers and those are in the room
first and foremost I say thank you
I’ll let that sit there for a minute I
say thank you because you know over my
29 years in law enforcement I was a
social worker a caseworker a
psychologist I played those roles I had
young people next to me and I played
those roles I wasn’t good at I’m not a
professional and so the reality is as I
come to this place we need you we need
you to teach us how to do this process
help us understand how we can work with
young people to be a part of this
collaboration because collectively we
can make change to those of you in the
community I say the time is now for you
to step up the time for you to be the
advocate so those mothers those
grandfathers those preachers those wives
listen we all want our schools to be
safe we all agree with that
do you agree with me taking a ten year
old child because she came went to a
metal detector and took a pair of
scissors to the metal detectors keeping
a safe do you believe if I have a child
who’s been sexually abused and I arrest
her and never answered those questions
that’s keeping us safe it’s not and so
you can be that advocate in this process
you can be that advocate and so so
I’ll ask you I started out this
conversation asking you three questions
I’m going to ask you three more now are
we prepared to stop criminalizing and
putting our youth in in the criminal
justice system for coming in school with
pair of scissors are we prepared to stop
criminalizing and bringing our young
people in school and into into a prison
system for having a minor scuffle are we
prepared to stop criminalizing our young
people and bring them in the criminal
justice system for talking back to
someone who who who has a teacher and
somebody an administrator I think we are
you know so I’ll leave you with a quote
by dr. Martin Luther King he says the
time is always right to do what is right
I submit to you the time is right now to
give our kids a second chance thank you
[Applause]
question you don’t have to raise your
hands if you’re not comfortable with
that but just want to engage in a little
bit of a conversation I many of you have
walked into a school with a pair of
scissors how many of you maybe walked in
school or got into a conversation with
your teacher or administrator or someone
who’s in authority and maybe have talked
back to that person how many of you may
have been in school and got into a small
altercation with someone in school and
had a conflict with another student in
school so here’s how that works before
1994 in the mid 1990s we all know what
happened the majority of those kids
would happen we would go down to our
principal or disciplinarian and they
would give us some demerits or they
would give you in school out-of-school
suspension now I started out in
elementary school in Catholic school I
went to public school system so we were
told to go to the third floor and see
the nun and usually on the third floor
was the biggest nun in the convent and
she had a yardstick that looked like it
was six feet not three feet and all of
you who come from that setting knows
what happens let’s fast forward now into
the 1994 1995 the gun-free act the
federal gun-free Act is put in place and
now we start to make this transition
where we’re going to put police officers
in our schools we’re going to start
addressing what was normal adolescent
behavior now is going to now require
policing so you know coming in school
with the scissors under the gun-free act
say listen we all understand that having
a gun in school does anyone want a gun
in school I don’t have gun in here right
now but when did a gun become a scissors
or that Cub Scout knife that you did you
like to carry and so we move into this
process where we start to have this you
know this process of school with the
Prison Pipeline
you know arresting our kids our school
now that’s just a part of it you know
the other part is we won’t talk about it
suspensions and explosives and that is
also a driver but for today we talk
about you know the school to Prison
Pipeline and zero tolerance in our
schools and we’re no longer going and
we’re not going to deal with the issues
that drive that and where that’s coming
from we’re not going to deal with the
issues that when we arrest a child that
you know their potential of going on to
college the collateral consequences that
goes with that is significant it is
significant we are and when we look at
this issue we also have to look at the
issue around racial racial disparity the
majority of the kids across this nation
or who are being arrested or
african-american Latino kids in some
cases two to three times they’re white
student counterpart why is that why is
everywhere I go across this nation that
is the current is a conversation that we
need to be having it’s a conversation
that needs to be brought to the top so
here’s how I believe I believe that
normal adolescent behavior kids should
be given a second chance
stick for a minute and because by not
arresting those kids we have the
potential to improve them and prove
their academics improve their social
part of that and their well-being and we
can do that both regionally locally and
across this nation you know when I think
about my the process for me you know I
was as you heard a Deputy Commissioner
to fill up the police department for
over two almost 29 years I was in the
police department I retired January of
last year when I moved on to take over
the school diversion program in the city
of Philadelphia which we work together
and it’s a because if we’re going to
deal with this issue around the school
to Prison Pipeline it will be a multi
prong approach it’s going to require all
of us in this room to engage and so we
became as a collective group that
decided that if let me think about this
if we train our officers around
adolescent development if we train our
officers around behavioral health if we
give them tools to be able to do
something with a child differently than
arrest them give them a second chance
that we could change the trajectory of
that child moving forward and so you
know oftentimes there’s this myth
there’s this myth that our young kids
are out there just engaged in so much
violence I mean if you look at the media
and you look at the news
you listen to legislator running and the
kids are out there just doing all this
crazy crime you know for those in the
room we’ve been around the super
predator who was supposed to be coming
he or she never arrived and so you know
I put that your doubt up on the screen
you see the dot you say what is that
you know what that dot represents that
dot represents the number of kids in
across this nation who get involved in
violent crime that sea of black that you
see is a ninety five percent of the kids
across this nation who get involved in
non violent crime a large percentage
that is just minor crimes and in that
ninety five percent in all of that is
what we know that there’s poverty in our
communities some people don’t want to
address that variable we know that
there’s asperities in our community we
know that many of these kids come from
violent homes poverty and all kinds of
issues in their homes and oftentimes we
put up this the shell as if it doesn’t
exist see here here’s the thing people
ask you why are you in this space why do
you want why do you talk about young
people yeah I talk about young people
because I could be valve you take that
slide back I could be them
you’re my mother raised four boys my
father left when we were babies young
kids early is five years old left my
mother with four boys I remember those
days coming home when there was no gas I
remember those days when there was no
electricity I remember coming home one
time and the truck is there and they
take all of our furniture and put it in
this truck in it and they take it away
all my mother’s stuff and our trophies
never to see it again
so I remember it but guess what ladies
and gentlemen I had people in my life to
help me to give me a chance I think
about my godparents who stepped in to be
parents to me and my godfather oh who
took me into a small business and heavy
work after school I remember those
coaches those teachers those
administrators all those people in
school who helped me and who gave me
respect who gave me
so I put that picture of me up on the
screen cuz you know what I love school
it was a place when things were crazy I
had a good house don’t get me I was poor
but my mother made a good house but I
got on that bus because school was a
place where I wanted to be and school
was a place where I could could survive
and move on you know that was that place
for me you know I meant to say in the
opening and I bring it back because
it-it’s too important to miss but listen
ladies and gentleman I didn’t become a
cop to lock up children become a cop to
take a ten year old child and put him
and her in a car and take him away
it’s not why I came into this business
and that’s why it’s so important that I
believe policing has such a significant
role and bring about this change so as I
move through my life and I go on to
school I go on to college let me tell
you I didn’t do too well you know so I
flunk out of college and I go back and
get my degrees later on but I leave
school and I go back in the community
but I’m blessed to be able to come on
the police department cuz I get a chance
to come on the police department from
that process on I move through the ranks
and the last seven years I served as
deputy commissioner in the police
department but over the last five years
of my time and I became that immersed in
juvenile justice I needed to know what
was going on with our young people
what were the drivers what is the trauma
that wasn’t impacting our young people
and we’re a resume and avoiding that
because here’s the thing it’s one thing
of a asked a child what did you do let
me change that question what happened to
you what happened what happened to you
all too often when we ask that question
as we get so many different answers you
know as a result of that I was fortunate
through the supports of the Philadelphia
Police Department Commissioner Ross who
was a phenomenal Police Commission of
Philadelphia and his prior Commissioner
Ramsey working with Department of Human
Services on the Commissioner Figueroa
and her team working with the school
district as part of this process and
part of my stony foundation has given me
the opportunity in the foundation to
work in this pool to space full time
let’s say we can do something different
how do we do that differently we created
a program to say you know when we go
into school
we’re not gonna arrest that child matter
of fact we’re not gonna put them in
cuffs we’re gonna have social workers
Department of Human Services social
workers who do a phenomenal job go into
those homes and see what’s going on in
those houses for those of you in this
space you know what’s going on in those
houses when we get behind those doors we
see all of that trauma you know no gas
no electric all the things I talked
about exist in those homes and they work
with those families that get them on
back home track we working with those
families to help them through this
process and as a result we’re having
amazing results so let me show you my
results
we went from a school district that was
locking up almost 1,600 kids a year
majority-owned for those minor
adolescent offenses and said we know
what if we’re giving these kids a second
chance and let’s see how it works as you
see we went to a system they did almost
500 60 and 64 percent reduction and
school arrests since the tooth wave 2014
when we started this process 1,400 kids
are now been diverted who are not
getting arrested who have no paperwork
no collateral consequences of that
arrest you know what it’s also exciting
two other things we have officers in the
Philip your Police Department who worked
the schools who are the ambassadors for
this program and I could be no more
proud of them because they go into
eighty percent of those officers say you
know what else we need to be doing that
stuff across the nation we need to be
doing that stuff across the state this
is too good they keep it in Philadelphia
we all should be doing this across the
process and here’s the oath mother most
other siding part when we get into those
homes we don’t have a judge telling us
that you have to do anything we don’t go
in there with any stick we go in there
in the Department of Human Services
social workers do a great job of going
there talking to those family building
trust with those families and 90% of
those families will engage why because
they need help and when you bring that
to the doorstep in a respectful way
you’ll be amazed and shocked how people
will respond maze and shop again ladies
and gentlemen it’s all about a second
chance and so there’s a quote here and
says change is the only thing we dislike
more than things staying the same you
all can relate to that
we want to change it it takes courage
you know sometimes you heard these
conversations from these amazing
speakers it takes courage to start to
move into that space because I believe
we can be the change agents in this
process from a policing perspective it
can be those change aces because we can
dismantle the school that price school
to Prison Pipeline and it has to be done
working in a constructive way and so I
make this message to across the board I
say to the Chiefs and in law enforcement
across this nation that you are the
change agent as I have been and we have
become that if you go into the space 85%
of the kids who come into the criminal
justice system come in by police if we
change if our Chiefs and our law
enforcement officers start to understand
that we can deal with the root issues of
these young people’s issues problems and
they won’t come back isn’t that the
better equation you know to my service
providers and those are in the room
first and foremost I say thank you
I’ll let that sit there for a minute I
say thank you because you know over my
29 years in law enforcement I was a
social worker a caseworker a
psychologist I played those roles I had
young people next to me and I played
those roles I wasn’t good at I’m not a
professional and so the reality is as I
come to this place we need you we need
you to teach us how to do this process
help us understand how we can work with
young people to be a part of this
collaboration because collectively we
can make change to those of you in the
community I say the time is now for you
to step up the time for you to be the
advocate so those mothers those
grandfathers those preachers those wives
listen we all want our schools to be
safe we all agree with that
do you agree with me taking a ten year
old child because she came went to a
metal detector and took a pair of
scissors to the metal detectors keeping
a safe do you believe if I have a child
who’s been sexually abused and I arrest
her and never answered those questions
that’s keeping us safe it’s not and so
you can be that advocate in this process
you can be that advocate and so so
I’ll ask you I started out this
conversation asking you three questions
I’m going to ask you three more now are
we prepared to stop criminalizing and
putting our youth in in the criminal
justice system for coming in school with
pair of scissors are we prepared to stop
criminalizing and bringing our young
people in school and into into a prison
system for having a minor scuffle are we
prepared to stop criminalizing our young
people and bring them in the criminal
justice system for talking back to
someone who who who has a teacher and
somebody an administrator I think we are
you know so I’ll leave you with a quote
by dr. Martin Luther King he says the
time is always right to do what is right
I submit to you the time is right now to
give our kids a second chance thank you
[Applause]
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