McLain High School students will be the first in Tulsa to participate in a new city-district partnership dubbed Project Trust.
The pilot program will start later this month with informal, after-school meetings between Tulsa police officers and around 15 students to talk about issues young people face. Tulsa Public Schools Campus Police are also involved.
"A lot of contact with the police can be positive, but some of it is quite negative," said TPS Camps Police Chief Robert Swain. "We felt like it was important now to have some of those hard conversations that maybe they don't get to have before it's too late."
TPD will survey students before and after the program on their feelings toward police.
"This whole concept is about building relationships and trust with police officers," said TPD Deputy Chief Jonathan Brooks.
City Councilor Karen Gilbert sponsored the program.
"Tulsa Police Department and our campus police do an exceptional job going in and working with students and building relationships with them, and building trust with students and our community," Gilbert said. "But there's always room for a little bit more."
TPD wants to expand Project Trust over time, ultimately making it an ongoing program throughout Tulsa Public Schools. City councilors want TPD to think about taking Project Trust to other school districts in the city.
