Camp Zap Document

With so many young people being raised by a single-parent, or as is often the case, by foster parents, it should be no surprise our juvenile crime rates are increasing on a national level.  The city of Woodlake is no exception with a population of just under 8,000, with an 85% Hispanic population, and the majority of those living at or below the poverty level.  Many of Woodlake’s youth live with single mothers and no male role model in their life.  There-in lies the problem or risk factor for these young people which often times leads them into difficulty in making healthy choices, which results in drug and alcohol use, sexual activity, dropping out of school or directly into the criminal justice system.

The Woodlake Police Department wanted to have a direct impact on reducing juvenile crime in the city and strengthen relationships with youth and their families.

The police department acquired a used school bus from the local school district.  Paint was donated and a state prison inmate crew painted the bus black and white, representing an official emergency vehicle.  This bus was used to transport an initial group of 30 young people to the Police Chief’s ranch for an afternoon of fishing and lunch.  The event was a huge success and a sign-up sheet quickly filled up for the next weekend fishing trip.  Kids were excited and school staff was giving us positive feedback regarding improved attitudes displayed by the kids.  The time spent with youth and officers was priceless with frowns turning into smiles.

From this experience and with the youth demanding more time on the ranch, the one afternoon fishing trip evolved into an overnight outing where three meals were served to hungry kids.  Most of these youngsters literally inhaled the hotdogs and hamburgers served to them along with the fresh fruit and refreshments.

Games consisted of basketball, volleyball, football, horseshoes, hayrides, horse back riding, swimming, canoeing, fishing, crafts, relay races, scavenger hunts and gun safety.  Saturday evenings consisted of at least one and sometimes two guest speakers.  These might be ex gang members or drug dealers who had spent years of their lives in prison.  Their candid stores certainly got their attention.  The message in these sessions was about consequences suffered from bad choices made at an early age.  The decisions we make are always our choice, and they, the speakers had no one to blame but themselves. 

In contrast, sitting judges would also attend as speakers and talk of all the hurt inflicted on family every time a young person comes before the bench.  An individual’s poor choices can also inflict pain and punishment on their loved ones.
The one-on-one contact with officers and the kids is so powerful and pays huge dividends in terms of self esteem.  These kids not only have a good friend but they are also police officers.  The vision for this event started as a way to mend relationships between community and police, but became something even greater, and more rewarding.

One afternoon about three years into these activities, I received a call from an official at our local juvenile hall facility.  Her question was, “How come our Woodlake kids are not showing up at the hall like they once were?”  Unnoticed at first, but very significant was the fact that our juvenile arrest rates had decreased significantly at the 3-year mark and has reduced substantially more in the past 5 years.

What we have stumbled across is an intervention and prevention program that has changed youths’ attitudes and has enhanced their social skills to make them more resistant to peer pressure.  Although there are many factors that affect delinquent behavior, such as poverty, biological disabilities, poor parenting, cognitive deficits, poor bonding to parents and schools and poor peer relations.  It was none the less surprising to recognize the difference a small scale project like ours made on the youth attending our campouts.  The number of kids attending has increased to 125 per outing and this is done every quarter.

Our program can truly be labeled as youth development, where the program offers safety and structure, a sense of belonging and membership, self worth and a feeling of being able to contribute in some way, a feeling of independence and control over one’s life, the development of good relationships along with competence and confidence.