The Teen And Police Academy provides solutions that work to build and improve relationships between youth and law enforcement through programming, education, skill building, and service learning. Here are some of the services we provide:

Teen And Police Service (TAPS) Center's Blue Puzzle Piece Linking to the Programs Page
TAPS Academy Research
TAPS Academy Academics
TAPS Academy Training
TAPS Academy Training

What We Do

Our Goals

  • Reduce the social distance between youth and police
  • Teach crime prevention skills
  • Build community through service-learning
  • Promote and Enhance school safety
 

Since 2011, The Teen And Police Service Academy has been dedicated to reducing the social distance between our youth and police. Here's a snapshot of our ongoing efforts:

16134

Youth Served

7143

Officers Served

9165

Service Learning Hours

100

Current TAPS Academy Officers

*Data last updated August 2024.

TAPS Academy provides training for law enforcement officers and youth throughout the United States. Here are the cities across the nation that we are currently in:

Greater Houston Area 

Columbus, Ohio 

Upper Darby, Pennsylvania 

Las Vegas, Nevada 

Lynchburg, Virginia  

Grambling, Louisiana   

Washington, DC  

"Youths who participated in the TAPS Academy showed significant improvement in measures of social distance, with certain subgroups (such as Hispanic/Latino and male youths) reporting more favorable perceptions of police.”

- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
 

The Teen And Police Service Academy is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice.