World Report: May 10, 1996 Vol.1 No.25
- This Issue:
- Table of Contents
- Cover Story
- Cover Story - Spanish Version
- Mini-Lesson
- Comprehension Quiz
- Teacher's Guide and Worksheets
Policeman Next Door
Officer Ellis Sinclair has 33 kids. Sort of. As part of a crime-prevention program, he keeps a close watch on 33 kids, ages 10 to 14. How close? He's moved right into their tough neighborhood!
The police in Macon, Georgia, decided that a group of kids with a history of problems needed their own full-time cop. So the department bought a yellow brick house in East Macon where Sinclair could live and work. He packed everything, even his prized collection of model police cars, and moved in. "The people were glad to see me," he says.
Each week, he talks to the principal of Appling Middle School to check the students' grades and behavior. He meets with the kids twice a week and listens to them anytime they want to talk. This summer the group will go camping, tour a dairy farm and perform service projects.
The best news: Project Y.E.S. (for Youth Enrichment Services) really seems to work. Last year 88% of the kids in the project had been in trouble with the law. Just 8% have been in trouble since the beginning of the project, and the overall crime rate in East Macon has been lower too.
A group of neighbors, including Sinclair's own grandmother, helps run Project Y.E.S. They say they feel safer having Sinclair nearby, so they want to help him do his job well.
But Sinclair says his work is more than a job. He feels responsible for helping those 33 kids have a better life. Says the officer, who has no kids of his own: "They're my family."
