By Adilia Watson, Illustration: From article, The Imprint, March 16, 2023
Achild’s mother thrown to the floor. A mom screaming “I love you!” as she’s shoved into a squad car. Cops drawing guns. Cuffs out. A beloved pet shot. The house torn apart, toys broken.
These are the images that can stick with kids when their parents are arrested. But in upstate New York, a network of law enforcement, court officials, social service providers and community activists are hoping to alter these all-too-common scenes, highlighted in a training video shown to the public earlier this month.
Under the Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents policy adopted in late 2021, officers in the Buffalo Police Department who arrest parents or serve search warrants are expected “to minimize trauma experienced by a child.” The new directive calls for officers to be “trained to identify and respond effectively to the child, and support the child’s physical safety and well-being.”
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