BRITTON MASBACK

Britton+Masback.jpg

UNITED STATES, 19

Project: Youth Educating Police
Basic Human Needs: Education, Safety

Britt was 16 years-old when a fellow teen of Portland, named Quanice Hayes, was shot and killed by a police officer. That wasn’t the first time Britt had heard of unwarranted violence by law enforcement against a young person. He learned that while 3.5% of police interaction in the United States was with teens aged 15- 19, 30.1% of their forceful interactions were with people in that same age range. Those shocking statistics motivated Britt to found Youth Educating Police (YEP), a non-profit organization using outreach and training to foster a positive and productive relationship between youth and police. Britt created a first-of-its-kind training program based on national research, youth focus groups, officer testimonials and psychologist consultations. Comprised of youth experiences, expert testimony and scenario-based learning, YEP training gives officers insight into the youth perspective. Additionally, YEP holds annual forums to increase empathy between the police and the community, and YEP’s Youth Empowerment Initiative supports young people to lead trainings and events in their communities. Since 2017, Britt’s work has gained increasing support from organizations and the local government. In 2018, the Mayor of Portland named Britt to the Portland Commission on Community Engaged Policing. Currently, the entire Portland Police Bureau, including 1,000 officers and the command staff, is undergoing in-person YEP training, which will be complete by June 2020. Britt is actively working to institutionalize YEP training and events across the United States. He ultimately hopes to establish a youth advisory board for law enforcement in every major American city to ensure an ongoing dialogue among youth and government officials. 

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Evan Wei-Haas