Very few of us believe that all cops are bad. We recognize them as mostly decent men and women struggling to do a difficult job under difficult circumstances.

That said, all too frequently we read about police officers that betray the public trust, make terrible errors in judgment or worse -- demonstrate no judgment at all. Unfortunately, the lapses of a few tend to color the character of the many. It helps to be reminded from time to time that law enforcement officers care deeply about the communities they serve.

I received such a reminder last weekend when I was invited to speak to young people participating in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department VIDA program. VIDA is an acronym meaning Vital Intervention and Directional Alternatives. The program is a 16-week course for at risk youth ages 12 – 17 that seeks to change the mind sets of young people and get them thinking differently about the options available to them. The courts either direct youth to the program or parents request that their problem children enter the program.

Under the direction of the sheriff’s department, the young men and women receive mentoring, anger management, family counseling, physical fitness training, career guidance and tattoo removal. The students are also required to perform community service like graffiti removal, trash pick-up and weed removal. It is a one-stop shop designed to redirect the negative behavior of young people into positive outcomes. 

This is not a hand-holding program.  These are deputy sheriffs after all, and they believe that, for many of these kids, structure and discipline are two of the crucial elements missing from their home training.  Misbehavior is confronted in the language the kids understand. The kids believe they are hard; the deputies are trained to be hard, so hard is the language in which they communicate.

Underneath all of this hard bark, however, is a dedication to the communities they serve and a deep concern for the future of these children.   

It is difficult not to have compassion when one hears stories from the streets like the nine-year-old boy with gang tattoos on his arms and neck recently arrested for burglary. Of children abandoned to be raised by grandparents while their mothers do time and their fathers wander the streets anonymous and unconcerned. Of teenage girls arrested for prostitution with back packs filled with algebra homework -- algebra homework graded A+.  Girls with futures put on the stroll by drug-addicted mothers.

Day after day of dealing with bad people and good people at their worst might send many looking for new careers. These men and women grit their teeth and determine to break the cycle. It is -- as my father used to say -- a hard row to hoe. The officers work on a shoestring budget, and only have access to the kids twice a week. They must compete with years of negative influences whose time and resources seem endless. 

On average, only 45 percent of the kids graduate from the VIDA program; the call of the streets is strong. But of those 45 percent, there will be success stories, and the benefits of success can be huge. Just one child diverted from entering the criminal justice system as an adult not only saves tax-payers dollars, but saves the community a greater amount of grief. According to deputies I spoke with, just one justified officer-involved shooting can cost the city upwards of $1 million, to say nothing of the damage to community relations and the emotional toll on families. 

Yet in spite of the great benefit and tremendous resource programs like VIDA are for parents and teens, the classes are largely under capacity. It may be that we are getting a handle on juvenile delinquency (If you believe that, I have some land in Florida I would like to sell you.).  Or it may be that programs like VIDA simply fly under the radar.  Families can’t take advantage of programs they do not know exist. It could also be that far too often, police officers are viewed with suspicion and considered an occupying force in the neighborhood -- rather than as an organization filled with men and women that truly care.

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Joseph C. Phillips is the author of “He Talk Like a White Boy."