High Life / A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Cracking Down on Stereotypes : Law enforcement: It seems as if officers and the younger generation have always been in conflict. But police officers say it’s not because they dislike teens.

Teens often believe the police have nothing better to do than issue traffic tickets, shut down parties and, in short, make teens’ lives miserable.

“It would be unlikely to have a group of students sitting at lunch rapping about how cool police are,” said Detective Eric Bianchi of the juvenile-crime division in Irvine.

“Some kids (are content) with the police, viewing them as part of the system. Others see cops as machines that only break up parties and destroy their fun.”

It’s not uncommon for anyone--teens or otherwise--to be intimidated by the sight of a uniform.

“Teen-agers don’t know a lot about the law, and they feel apprehension when I approach them,” Bianchi said. “They don’t know if I just want to talk or if I want to arrest them.”

It seems as if law officers and the younger generation have always been in conflict. But police officers say it’s not because they dislike teens.

“Teen-agers are very responsible,” said Capt. Larry Baker of the Brea Police Department. “They know when they’ve done something wrong, and they accept the consequences. They are no different from adults.”

Sgt. Matt Kollett of the Costa Mesa Police Department agrees: “Teens are pretty responsible people. They usually comply with what they are asked.”

Contrary to what some teens may believe, police say they don’t stereotype young people as troublemakers.

“A tremendous majority of the juveniles I’ve met, I’ve really liked a lot,” Bianchi said. “I think because I don’t look at them as criminals, it’s easier to communicate with them.”

Cpl. William Heim, a training officer with the Santa Ana Police Department, says dealing with teen-agers doesn’t really change over the years.

“Today’s teens are no different from any other generation’s,” he said. “They may resent authority, but most bow to it. Things haven’t changed. It’s a natural maturation process that everyone goes through.”

Though most teens accept authority figures, there are a few who give the police a hard time.

“We try to do our job professionally,” said Lt. Bob Schoenkopf, a swing shift watch commander with the Tustin Police Department. “If teens give us attitudes, we will be more wary for our own safety, but we still try to maintain a professional approach. We know it comes with the territory.”

Said Kollett: “You can’t let things like that (teens who present problems) bother you. If you do, then you’re not in this job for long.”

So why do teens dislike police?

“It has a lot to do with peer pressure,” Bianchi theorized. “In front of everyone else, they’re going to be more negative about police. But one-on-one, they judge a policeman more as an individual.

“Also, they judge according to what happens to them. A guy can be the nicest cop, but if he gives out a ticket, they think he’s a jerk.”

Some police officers lay the blame for a teen’s negative attitudes on his or her upbringing.

“I think it’s a parental problem in some cases,” said Don Gray, a detective with the Brea Police Department. “A lack of good, solid parenting have left teen-agers with no respect for adults in general and no respect for authority.”

Others say the problem is that teens simply don’t understand why police do what they do.

“They misunderstand what the mission is behind law enforcement,” Lt. James Winder of the Brea Police Department said. “They don’t see that sometimes their driving actions are dangerous and can lead to accidents. And part of our job is to issue tickets to deter these accidents from occurring.”

Added Heim: “(Ticketing) is an education process to increase safety on roads. It is not a punitive action. It is just to get their attention that what they are doing could be dangerous.”

And it may all boil down to bringing about better understanding between teens and the police.

“Both sides need to open up their perspectives and try to see where the other person is coming from,” Bianchi said. “Know there’s a reason for what the police ask you to do.”

One good way to gain perspective of the police point of view is to take part in ride-along programs, which put you in an officer’s patrol car for rides that vary from two to 10 hours. For further information on ride-along programs, contact your city’s police department.