Sep 26, 2021
S1 Episode 11- The Dream Team
In the eleventh episode of Aftermath Philadelphia, Captain Gillespie sits down with 18th District Officers Baukman and Harris, along with Sgt. Sharone Johnson. These guests are the architects of the 18th District "Skills N Drills" summer program that went on each Friday during the summer of 2021 at Christy Recreation Center, in West Philadelphia. Captain Gillespie and the guests discuss how the idea for this program was formed, the importance of building trust with the community before asking for assistance and the flake ratio. Further along in the discussion Captain Gillespie and the guests explain how this type of community policing is important and the effect it made on safety in the neighborhood. They dig deep into other connected issues such as; where are all the OG's to guide youth, how to track the success of a program like this, and the burden of trust. The 18th District "Skills N Drills" program was a sixteen week program that took one year to design and build. It brought officers, the neighborhood youth and community activists together each Friday from 5pm to 7pm, for a sports clinic and life skills. A special thanks to the Families behind the Badge organization for their constant support in this program.