
In recent years, the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas has seen an encouraging decrease in overall crime rates. However, an alarming trend has emerged: a significant increase in juvenile crime, particularly violent offenses.
Recognizing the urgency of this issue, Police Chief Danny Baker and his team have launched a groundbreaking initiative called Shield Our Youth.
The program identifies at-risk youth and connects them with crucial community resources to take a proactive approach to preventing criminal behavior. Shield Our Youth seeks to reduce juvenile delinquency and guide young people away from negative influences that could lead to involvement in the formal juvenile justice system.

This approach underscores a broader commitment to community-oriented policing, where the goal is not just enforcement but also prevention, rehabilitation, and support.
The program officially began taking shape about two years ago at a community meeting. Key community members, data analysts, and law enforcement representatives gathered to discuss the issue and align on the accuracy of the data surrounding juvenile crime. The consensus was clear: the city needed to act, and it needed to act fast.
The next step was crucial—getting everyone to truly work together toward a common goal. “We all agreed to check our egos at the door,” Chief Baker notes. “It was about finding solutions, not placing blame.”
A Dedicated Officer
At the initiative’s heart is a specially-designated officer to focus on prevention rather than punishment. That role belongs to Fort Smith Officer Blake Scott. He is tasked with identifying youth in the community who are exhibiting early signs of trouble in schools, and then engaging with them in a meaningful way before they spiral into serious criminal behavior.
Officer Scott says his goal is to engage young people, particularly those ages 10 to 17, who might otherwise be overlooked and then serve as a bridge between the police and the public. By reaching out to at-risk youth with a simple, relatable message, he hopes to guide them toward a more positive path. Shield Our Youth utilizes the routine interactions law enforcement officers have in the community to identify families who need support.
The program is enhancing coordination among several organizations to facilitate early identification: law enforcement. social services, community service providers, and schools.
Officer Scott’s journey into law enforcement is deeply personal. Growing up, he faced a dichotomy in how police were perceived by different members of his family. While some held a skeptical view of law enforcement, Scott sought to create his own perspective. “A lot of people don’t trust the police. One side of my family believed we should not even talk to cops,” he notes.
Scott wants to be a familiar face for young people in his community, fostering an environment of trust and safety. “I had contact with police officers before and just seeing a face that looks like me ... I want to leave that impression on a kid,” he says, emphasizing the need for relatable role models in law enforcement.
Before embarking on his career in law enforcement, Scott served in the military, which he describes as a pivotal moment in his life. “It was the best decision for me and my family,” he recalls. His military service instilled in him a sense of discipline and a desire to serve his country and his community. Reflecting on his transition from aspiring NFL star to a soldier, he acknowledges the importance of adaptability and the willingness to embrace new paths.
As Officer Scott continues to lay the groundwork for the Shield Our Youth program, he remains optimistic about the potential for change. He believes that through education, mentorship, and community engagement, the cycle of involvement with the justice system can be broken.
Scared Straight
When Officer Scott was in middle school, he found himself hanging out with the wrong crowd and potentially headed down a wrong path himself. His mother enrolled him in a program designed to show him the consequences he could one day face if he continued bad behavior.
This program took Blake and eleven other boys to the McAlester State Penitentiary in Oklahoma. The imposing, gray building struck him with a sense of dread.
They went through the process as if they were inmates, experiencing the cold bars firsthand. Meeting real inmates who shared their stories was a wake-up call. These men, serving sentences ranging from a few years to life, warned the boys about the consequences of their actions.
A Need For Understanding
Officer Scott offers a glimpse into the challenges and rewards of his profession, emphasizing that effective law enforcement is as much about human connection as it is about maintaining order. He has been put in uncomfortable situations that have opened his eyes to the harsh realities some of the youth in his community face.
He remembers a teenager who repeatedly ran away from home. Initially, the boy's mother feared he had been kidnapped, but it soon became clear that he was fleeing from unbearable living conditions. When Blake finally found the boy, he visited his house and learned that the child was sleeping on a bare bed frame, without a mattress, and using a trash can as a toilet.
This heartbreaking revelation underscored the importance of understanding the underlying issues that can drive a child's behavior. "And I wanted to ask the parents ‘why, why, why?’ Child Protective services then came to the house. And I just try to give them simple answers and be professional. Then I asked his mother if I could take the boy to go get something to eat,” Scott recalls.
He bought the boy a new outfit and a pizza. The teen told him he hadn't had pizza since he was five years old. "Eating a simple pizza is something most of us take for granted. It's stories like that that you see when you are boots on the ground. It's tough situations that you have to make a decision on."
Reflecting on his broader perspective, Officer Scott attributes many of the issues faced by at-risk youth to systemic problems that need addressing within the home and community. “I firmly believe that to help and to prevent this, it all starts in the home," he says.
He notes that many times complexities arise when an adult with a child in their care is arrested. In such scenarios, the officers must ensure the child's safety and proper placement, which can involve contacting another guardian or Child Protective Services. This additional layer of responsibility highlights the delicate balance officers must maintain when dealing with situations that impact both adults and children.
Linking Families to Resources
Captain Steven Creek oversees the Shield Our Youth program. He emphasizes the significance of law enforcement officers taking actions beyond simply arresting kids. Properly addressing reports and linking families to resources can make a profound difference in a young person’s life, he notes.
To do this, many of the community’s service providers are using a software called HopeHub. The software is a case management system that allows providers to connect with one another, make a case plan for moving forward, and track outcomes.
“With HopeHub, there’s no more scrolling through your phone or hoping you typed in what organization that person was with. No more going through your Rolodex or papers and looking for who you need to call or searching email threads. This connects service providers and brings it all together,” says Captain Creek.
Creek says the problem is not necessarily a lack of service providers. “All of the resources we need are right here, and they’re right here at home in Sebastian County and even across the state. The problem we ran into was that we realized we were not communicating. The left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing,” explains Captain Creek. “Shield Our Youth is a beacon of resources.”
Connecting youth and their families to multiple resources is what will ultimately create long-term solutions to juvenile delinquency, he says. He notes that officers are now more aware of the importance of assessing the many aspects of a juvenile’s life, like school, home, after school activities, and their friend group.
He thinks that when these aspects are examined, it will be easier to see what the root of the problem might be.
“Chief Baker has developed a really strong relationship with our community through increased community engagement, attending events, just getting us out in the community and letting people see the other side of us and getting to know us. That just really fosters a team environment of the police department working with their community. And when you can do that successfully, that’s when you see the crime rate go down.”
Looking Ahead
Chief Baker envisions the Shield Our Youth program growing and evolving. Youth who have been helped could return later as mentors to help a new generation. The program could even inspire some young people to pursue careers in law enforcement, he says.
"It would be incredible if we could develop some future police officers out of this program. We're always looking for new recruits and what better way to find them than by helping them choose the right path from the start?"
The initiative also includes a long-term vision of potentially pairing Shield Our Youth officers with non-law enforcement professionals to provide comprehensive support to at-risk youth and their families.
"We know it's a lofty goal, but the things we do along the way—those steps in the right direction— are what matter," Chief Baker emphasized. "Shield Our Youth is about more than just reducing crime; it's about building a safe, healthy, and hopeful future for our community's young people."
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