The 6th Annual LAPD Essay Contest was open to students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District and schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Students were asked to write what they would do that would have the greatest impact on the community if they were a Los Angeles Police Department officer for a day. Each of the ten winners and their essay are featured on the Department’s website, one each week. The following essay is one of the ten winning submissions.
If
you were a police officer for a day, what would you do to help the
community? I have never really thought about it until now. Police
officers are just everyday heroes that can’t fly, unless they get into
a helicopter of course. If I were a police officer for a day, I would
attempt to abolish gang violence that threatens the citizens of our
society. I will also prevent children from joining gangs. It’s better
to live in happiness than to live in sorrow.
I would first attempt to abolish gang violence by rounding up gang members, and instead as an alternative I will send them to create my own type of boot camp where they will be trained and treated like a soldier; instead of sending them directly to prison. The boot camp will be based on a program called devil pups. It is a youth program that teaches teamwork, confidence, and admiration for others as well as yourself. Most gang members don’t understand the prison they have unleashed upon our society. It’s like a hazardous chemical that has been discarded into a lake, and now it has affected every living organism within that body of water.
My second proposal is to instruct children and adolescences about the consequences for joining gangs. This program will be based on the G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education and Training) program, which teaches about drugs and gangs. Instead of teaching the program to 7th graders, it will be taught to 5th graders who will be attending middle school the following year. According to my research, students join gangs at a younger age. It’s better to educate the youth ahead of time so they make secure and dependable decisions. “A team is where a boy can prove his courage on his own. A gang is where a coward goes to hide.” Mickey Mantle wrote this quote; he was a former gang member.
I believe this alternative proposal could alleviate the public by primarily reducing the amount of gang violence, and then teaching the youth to make accountable decisions. I have read about many people who have tried to pull away from their old gang life and start new, but most of the time you don’t get a second chance. Imagine what could occur if we don’t stop aggression in our social order. We could all be petrified to walk outside our residence.
I remember Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. We must work at it.” We can’t be situated in one place; we must act to achieve what we planned. My mother once told me she could walk along the streets without any worry. Now, when I walk to school, I have to be aware of my surroundings and I have to call her once I get to my destination. In essence, anything can be accomplished if we set our minds to it, and if I were a police officer for a day, I would dedicate my life to my community as I should. I must follow the motto, “To protect and serve.”
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