Policing+High+Fives

Policing High Fives

April 28, 2017


Earlier this year, the Northampton Police Department started a community outreach program called “High Five Fridays” in which police go to elementary schools on Friday mornings and high-five kids on their way into school. The police got the idea to start the program from a police conference that was held in Los Angeles. The program was very well intentioned, as it was meant to familiarize children with the police and teach them that police are friendly and there to help them. Unfortunately, a few Northampton parents did not approve. According to them, having officers in uniform around their children was insensitive, as children with past negative experiences with the police may feel uncomfortable seeing officers in uniform.  Although the program was meant to help children, the complaints of a few parents forced the entire program to shut down after being in place for only about a month. The police responded somewhat positively to the program shutting down, saying,
“For a large portion of our population this program may not seem controversial, however, we cannot overlook the fact that this program may be received differently by some members of our community. Most importantly, we want kids to arrive at school enthusiastic and ready to learn.”

Northampton has always had a reputation for being sensitive to its minority groups and being conscious to political correctness. In an era of a Trump presidency, political correctness can often be misconstrued as weakness, which is the most probable reason for this story’s national coverage. Many, on both sides of the issue, are outraged, including one citizen who wrote an opinion piece that was published on MassLive. In the article, he speaks about the views of Northampton citizens, saying, “Stereotyping? You’re opposed, but not when it comes to treating all police as the enemies of the American people. Fair?” This citizen, like many others, is angry because the police are meant to protect and serve. He feels that children should not be taught that police are frightening, especially from such a young age. On the other side of the issue, citizens are worried about the mental health of the children. Laura Fallon, a school board member in Northampton, points out that “you may be getting positive feedback but it may be really difficult for people who are having a negative reaction to come to you and say, ‘It really upsets my child to come to school and see the police because the police have been at our house three times this month.’” Police were not forcing kids to give them high fives, although just seeing the officers in uniform upset some children.

People were scared to admit they had non politically correct views in the past because they were afraid of being seen as being uncompassionate or cold. Although this issue of high fives seems very trivial, it still made national news headlines. Since the idea for high five fridays was first introduced at a police conference, it is possible other school systems might introduce this program as a way to better the relations between students and police officers, although it is unknown whether other school systems will react the same way as Northampton.

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