June 30, 2015 — Milwaukee Police Department’s STOP (students talking it over with police) program has received a lot of media coverage recently.

This community based program helps to bridge the gap between young adults and police by fostering understanding and building communication skills. It is designed to address the relationship between future young leaders (ages 12-17) and police in the City of Milwaukee and to decrease the chances of an initial volatile interaction and cultivate sustainable and positive rapport.

The program, which utilizes many of the same principles taught in Vistelar’s Verbal Defense & Influence program, held its inaugural awards ceremony on May 21, 2015.

Here is an article about the ceremony published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Awards program celebrates Milwaukee police school program

The STOP program has grown from nine private and charter schools two years ago to 65 public, private and charter schools this school year. About 30 more schools are on a waiting list for the program.

Here is another Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about the STOP program:

Precious Lives: ‘What we are trying to do is change a culture’

Officer Bill Singleton, a Milwaukee police officer and Vistelar consultant who helped create the program, was interviewed for the Precious Lives project, which looks at the causes and consequences of gun violence on Milwaukee’s youth. In this excerpt from Tuesday’s radio piece, Singleton talks about trying to change perceptions:

Congratulations to the Milwaukee Police Department on building this ground breaking program.