ASTORIA — A city program that looks to keep youthful offenders away from crime is coming to the 114th Precinct this fall, the first time the initiative has been launched in Queens, NYPD officials said.
The Juvenile Robbery Intervention Program works with kids 17 and under who have been arrested for a robbery, and engages with them and their families in an effort to keep them from committing additional crimes.
The program will work with 39 kids this fall who live within the areas the 114th Precinct covers, including Astoria, Long Island, Woodside and Jackson Heights, according to the precinct's Capt. Peter Fortune.
"It's a very successful program. We do see recidivism rates drop with this," Fortune said during a community council meeting on Tuesday.
JRIP, as the program is known, involves officers making frequent visits with the kids and their families to keep them on the right track, and connecting them with social services.
"It's a bond that we form with these kids — we let them know that there's other options out there, other than committing robberies and hanging out with the wrong crowd," the captain said.
The initiative was first launched in Brownsville and in East Harlem. The city is looking to eventually bring it to all five boroughs, Fortune said.
