Again, that's a great question.
I simply ask all of the youth I interview what a police officer can do for them to feel some type of connection, or not to feel negatively towards them.
I do want to make clear that every youth understands the importance of having an officer. Not one has stated that they want to defund the police or don't believe there is a sense of utility in having officers.
It literally comes down to being treated with respect. Every single one has said that all they want, when they encounter an officer, is to feel they are being treated fairly and with respect. You would think something as simple as that would be easy to achieve, but clearly it's not.
I do believe this needs to start within the police culture and to change the way that police feel they need to interact with the community. There needs to be more of a focus on community development and positive community engagement.
As my fellow attendees have mentioned as well, there are positive instances where they've had members of their community state that they have had positive interactions. I believe these do exist, but one negative interaction can completely dismantle that positive interaction and can completely change the way that one perceives the police culture and the police institution.
I really think we need to start back at square one as to what it means to be a police officer and not view it as soft policing but as essential policing.