Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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Editor’s note: About 450 Clark County high school students participated in the annual Sun Youth Forum on Nov. 8 at Liberty High School. The students were divided into groups to discuss several topics. A spokesperson was chosen from each discussion group to write a column about the students’ findings. Kalynn Casanova, a senior at Green Valley High School, tells of the students’ opinions in the session entitled “Law and Crime.”
Student representative Kalynn Casanova, of Green Valley High School, poses during the 64th annual Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum at Liberty High School in Henderson, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
The Sun Youth Forum brought together students from across Southern Nevada to discuss topics of law and crime. After much discussion, our group came back to one idea over and over: Reforming the police.
Cases of police brutality have sparked fear throughout the country, pushing many Americans to advocate for extreme steps. With cries of “defund the police” coming from the mouths of angered citizens, fewer and fewer people want to be associated with police forces.
Such events make us ask: Should we defund the police? And if we don’t, how do we get them back?
Students were split on the first question. Some felt that money should be taken from the departments, while others felt the funding should remain the same, if not increase.
“That money should be given to the communities,” one student said. She believes that if we focus on enriching cities, guiding people away from crime by providing homes, food, education and jobs, crime rates would go down exponentially. If we’re able to prevent the crime, why pay for crime stoppers?
Others felt the problem isn’t so one-sided. We’ll still need cops no matter what, they said. They felt that funding within police departments should instead be refocused to include extensive instruction on mental illness, racial justice, stress management, etc.
Others mentioned hiring social workers to handle situations where more psychological expertise is necessary.
The entire group agreed that it is also important for cops to go through frequent mental health evaluations as well as be provided with more resources to support their well-being. As one student said, “We cannot afford for officers to have a bad day when they have the power to take lives.”
In addition to funding, students shared ideas on how to encourage more to apply to Metro.
Proposals to increase wages were promising to some, but others were concerned about how that would affect the number of cops who were truly passionate about their work vs. those who were only in it for the money.
Several suggested employing cops to participate in community events, such as volunteering at food banks and fundraisers, where positive interactions with the public would improve their image.
Another passionately spoke about introducing middle-schoolers to the world of law enforcement. He suggested that schools begin hosting officers to give lessons about life as cops, as well as be a positive presence for students to befriend, hang out with and learn from.
Though we may not all agree on what exactly the changes should be, we do know that for the sake of Americans as a whole, the role police play in our society is in need of reconsideration and reform.
