Youth Police Advisory Council

This is a blog about the quarterly meetings between the YPAC and HPD Chief Charles A. McClelland Jr.

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YPAC Senior Citizen Christmas Social 2018 | Houston Police

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YPAC Christmas Social 2017 | Houston Police DepartmentOn Thursday, December 21, 2017, members of the Youth Police Advisory Council (YPAC), along with the Houston Police Department's Community Outreach Unit, hosted a Christmas social and gift-giving event for disadvantaged senior citizens.

 The special Christmas party was held at the J.W. Peavey Multi-service Center, where senior citizens gathered to find a surprise holiday celebration, complete with food, games, and gifts.

 YPAC fosters communication and trust between the HPD and area youth.  Since 1997, the council has provided a forum where a diverse, volunteer group of high school teenagers meet with the Chief of Police, other police officials and adult mentors to share and discuss issues of importance to Houston's youth, with an emphasis on law enforcement topics.

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Truly enjoy spending time with our Youth Police Advisory Council (YPAC). Our YPAC spend time learning today to lead tomorrow. Proud of our program & participants. pic.twitter.com/EVNUjb9XNw

— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) November 11, 2017

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What can I say about our YPACers except they are SuperTroopers! Another great time at Caney Creek Ranch, fishing 🎣, bottle feeding calves, feeding cows, horseback riding and learning about agriculture! Thank you for your hospitality Ratcliff family! Everyone had a fantastic fun filled day! See ya next year!!! 

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Houston Police Department

March Youth Police Advisory Council (YPAC)

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We are inviting Houston area high school students to apply for the 2016-2017 Youth Police Advisory Council (YPAC).

Students will address issues affecting youth and the community, participate in community service projects and attend youth leadership conferences throughout the state.  Additionally, the YPAC meets regularly with Acting Chief of Police Martha I. Montalvo and other top HPD officials.

YPAC members are required to meet five times during the school year at the HPD Edward A. Thomas Building at 1200 Travis in downtown Houston.

Applications are available online at www.houstontx.gov/police/vip/images/ypac-app.pdf.  The deadline to apply is Saturday, October 1, 2016.

For more information, visit www.houstontx.gov/police/vip/ypac.htm, email [email protected] or call 713-308-3200.

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HPD Acting Police Chief Martha I. Montalvo riding Smash in the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Parade. Along with HPD Mounted Patrol, the parade route took them by the HPD Edward A. Thomas building.

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More pics from the YPAC hosted Sweetheart Dance!

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Everyone had a great time at the Sweethearts Dance hosted by HPD YPAC in Sunnyside. 

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Question: What effects does human trafficking have on the victim? they feel worthless. It tears them down. They don't feel human. They feel like they are objects. It could be physical or mental. We have to be there for them. If they think no one is there for them, they will fall deeper into it. They may feel alone. We have to reach out. COP: Most who find themselves in this situation have been verbally or physically abused. They feel trapped. That's how some victims wind up dead. Some try to escape and get caught and killed. This sends a message to the others who are being held that something like that will happen to them. They become a slave because to the pimp the prostitute is his property. You're either going to die or you have to escape. It turns the girl into property. Profit is the justification for slavery. Officer Pantoja: A person who is trafficked in the sex industry almost always will carry the emotional scars forever. Comparing numbers of slavery it is cheaper to "buy" a person and the profit is high. That is why it is the fastest growing criminal organization in the world.

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Question: How can you support teens who have experienced dating violence? Be there for them. Make them feel they can trust you. If their parents don't know, try to encourage them to tell their parents. Help them fix it without making them feel it's their fault. Part of it is education; identify some of the behaviors; because it is all part of the manipulation from the abuser. Try to keep that door open. It's tough to see them going through that but their self esteem has gone down. COP: I know it's difficult when a friend is going through this. Being abuse in a relationship is not love. Young men learn from male role models. It is not okay or cool to be abusive to members of the opposite sex. I think men have to take responsibility. More women are abused than men, although men can be victims too. We have the responsibility to teach young men how to treat women. We have to break the cycle. I see in my culture that there is a need for men to run the household and see it is running by the standards that they set. COP: That's a good point. Regardless of the culture, young boys learn from fathers or other male role models. Sometimes they learn from what they see on tv. I have two daughters and I took responsibility to teach them what kind of man to look for and marry. I wanted them to marry someone like me. Teach your daughters to be strong and confident too.

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Question: What makes you a likely victim of human trafficking? I think it can happen to anyone. There is no one type of victim. They look for people who are vulnerable. Officer Pantoja: There are no specific indicators. The most vulnerable population are youth who run away from home because they are looking for love and security. Many come to this country with visas to work, they are then held and forced into prostitution. There are more domestic than international victims. There are more labor trafficking cases than sex trafficking. People are being recruited on social media. They say they are looking for "models." It is not. They want to exploit you in the sex industry. COP: Human trafficking really is slavery either way you look at it. When you get down to the street level people are being exploited. Some of the women have bar codes and serial numbers. Officer Pantoja: People get branded, the Chief is correct. These traffickers will even get the girls abortions so they can keep working. HPD has a human trafficking unit here and we can help. Bringing awareness that this is happening in our schools and happening to our students. Frustration with your parents and sharing that online makes you a bigger target. Part of town doesn't matter either. Victims could be poor, rich, it doesn't matter. There is also a type of human trafficking for vital organs. COP: Just think of human trafficking as slavery.

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Question: Can sexting be caused by peer pressure? Yes, I think so. That person could threaten with different things to get the person to sext. COP: so it could be a bullying or blackmail type of relationship. How does the topic of sexting usually start? You don't have to date someone; sometimes guys will just ask and say if she doesn't do it they will make up rumors about her. COP: Do y'all find that it's the boys asking girls to send pics and not the other way? It's equal It's more 75% to 25%. Boys mature slower than girls so I think that's why boys ask girls more than girls ask boys. COP: The person you are sexting will probably not be the person you end up marrying with. You don't want to be in a job interview and someone has a folder with that picture in it and you have to explain why you did that. Think about it in terms like that. That person is not going to keep that image to themselves. They will share it. It's going to come out. People lose devices and it could come out. A phone got lost from a couple who had personal pictures. They pictures got out from the stolen phone. Is it more likely for boys or girls, you really hear about guys asking girls more because guys are not gossipy as girls Students have a false sense of security with snapchat thinking the pictures would delete. It doesn't because now snapchat owns that picture. Plus people can do screen shot. Or they use another phone to take a picture of the picture and that gets spread around. There are now third party apps to download pictures from snapchat. Photos on the phone are there and iCloud can get hacked. You can never completely delete it. These pictures are impossible to get rid of. Nothing is completely gone from cyber space. It comes down to self respect. Don't let anyone talk you into giving away your dignity and self respect. No one can take it from you, but you can give it away.

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Question: How can you tell if your friend is in a violent relationship and how can you help? They would be acting different and something would be off. You can try to talk to him or her and see what is happening. You could refer them to a counselor or trusted adult. There are signs; they don't communicate as often, they dress differently, isolation, etc. COP:Most times when you are talking about an abusive relationship, you are talking about power and control. To help someone they have to trust you. There is a text line or a phone line. The abuser is not going to stop. Someone or something has to intervene. If the abuser says they will stop, that is usually only temporary.