Violence prevention volunteers in schools improve relations with the police

The Youth Citizenship Building project or JCC (its portuguese acronym) inaugurated a joint initiative of São Paulo’s 3rd Batallion of Military Police and youths from the State School Salvador Moya, in the Cidade Vargas neighborhood, Perus district, São Paulo.

The Youth Citizenship Building group, active in the region since 1999, drew inspiration from a similar program created in the United States of America in 1979. Its main goals are to stimulate and strengthen the resistance to violence among youths. Children and teens age 12 to 18 work as volunteers, educating their peers in school and in the community.

According to officer Luciano Pereira, group advisor, two children from each classroom, are selected based on their desire for change and to work for a better world. “My role in the project is to find the youths and organize them so that they contribute toward developing citizenship,” Pereira said.

Youths are key to violence control

Officer Pereira also described the Youth Patrol, a group of JCC volunteers in charge of detecting structural problems and preparing seminars intended to guide youths away from involvement in criminal activities.

Yvani Alves, 19, president of the youth council at the Parque Anhangüera School is in close contact with the students. “We had gang related problems at school, they were violent and bullies.” According to Alves, a series of meetings and seminars, including contact with religious leadership, helped to dismantle the gangs and restore peace.

A change of paradigm

Alves said that the police had a negative image before the citizenship building project. “I was under the impression that the policemen had no respect for us, that they would only come near us at the school gates to attack us physically or offend us,” said Yvani. Apparently irreconcilable differences turned out, however, amenable to dialogue and serious work.

Yvani has a vivid example in her own family. Her younger brother is active as a JCC volunteer, and she noted distinct changes in his behavior, which led her to join in the project.

As a result Alves' own behavior changed, as did her impression of the police. “It dawned on me that there are people doing good and bad things everywhere,” she said, adding “and I could see for myself that there are policemen interested in doing what is right for our community.”

Officer Pereira admits that it was hard to admit that it was hard to overcome the initial recalcitrance. “We were not welcome at the school, people thought we were there for suppression,” he said. The activities the 3rd battalion organized helped to undo stereotypes. “To develop a close relationship with the youths, and work with them helped to break the paradigm of police brutality,” said Pereira.

On the other hand, changes in young people’s behaviors were felt in the families, schools and by the police itself. “Youths create a new relationship with the world, because they feel responsible and important in the process of construction of a new reality,” said Alves.

Yvani Alves is convinced of the JCC’s transformative force in her life. “I changed my way of thinking, and nowadays I want to be a military police officer,” said Ivany.

Translated by Lis Horta Moriconi

Read Further: (in Portuguese) http://www.jccbrasil.com.br/