Last year, Eugene Hightower went to a Missouri courtroom to receive a sentence on felony charges.
In November, he was back in circuit court. This time though, it was for a ceremony, complete with cupcakes and clapping. And instead of a sentence, when Hightower went up to the stand, he received a certificate.
Hightower, 22, was one of seven people who graduated from the St. Louis Police Partnership Program, a mentorship project that helps people on parole or probation build stability in their lives and avoid rearrest.
The program connects participants and their families with police and probation officers through monthly home visits and resources like jobs, education and housing.
“They always checked up, and it was basically like they just kept me moving forward,” said Hightower, who was joined in court by his “proud” girlfriend and their young son.
Through the program, Hightower got a steady job with the city mowing vacant lawns. That job and frequent check-ins from the mentors “kept me out the streets,” he said.
Besides mentorship and resources, participants who stick with the program’s conditions may be eligible for early release from parole and probation.
But some are still hesitant to join and work with police officers, said Terron Murphy, a detective with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and a mentor since the program’s start in 2017.
“They automatically think they were looking for snitches and information on the street,” Murphy said.
That’s why building trust with the participants, Murphy said, is key to buy-in and keeping people away from trouble.
“When you see me on the street, it's not just Detective Murphy. I'm Terron Murphy,” he said. “I wanted to build a friendship and a long-lasting relationship with you, and from the people that initially were in it from 2017 I can honestly say that we still keep in contact with each other.”
The Police Partnership Program was the focus of a research study published this year by University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologists that found that the one-on-one approach significantly reduced gang, group and individual criminal behavior.
“Employed participants were less likely to be arrested or charged with a technical violation by the end of the study,” the study concluded.
The study also found that those in the program had a more positive attitude toward the police.
“These clients who don't necessarily have good experiences with the police now have a different relationship with the police. And that's a huge thing,” said Brooke Harvey, a unit supervisor with Missouri’s Division of Probation and Parole and a mentor in the program.
The program, which partners with Mission: St. Louis, doesn’t only address the needs of participants. During monthly check-ins, Harvey said officers also help family members, driving them to food pantries and medical appointments.
“We're not just helping the client, but the family because we need the families to be stable too for our clients to do better,” Harvey said.
As the program heads into its eighth year, officers say they want to expand the resources they offer and connect with employers who can provide long-term, career-oriented jobs for participants.
The program is still small, with 40 participants and about 10 graduates per year. Harvey said that’s what makes the program successful.
“We like to be small. We don't want it to blow up, because we need to have these intimate relationships,” Harvey said.
The graduation ceremony on Nov. 14 was held in Judge Elizabeth Byrne Hogan’s courtroom, one of the few judges in the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court who recommends people for the program. As each graduate came up for their certificate, Hogan nudged them to reflect on the program.
“For a lot of them, it's the first graduation ever that they've had is from here,” Hogan said. “That’s why I make them all talk because normally they aren't talking for any positive reason. They usually don't want anyone to look at them so it's really just— it transforms the entire family.”
