EVERETTE PENN
Everette B. Penn is a change agent in the area of police and youth relations. As the co-founder of the Teen And Police Service Academy, otherwise known as TAPS Academy he combines his academic career of over 22 years with practical experience in the justice system to call for a discipline of Youth and Police Studies in order to harness the energy of the two cultures for better understanding and interaction. A Ph.D. in Criminology, and various national and international experiences, including a Fulbright to Egypt allow Dr. Penn to see that both youth and police cultures need voice and space to hear each other in order to create mutual respect and appreciation. As Director of the TAPS Center in Houston, Texas he leads thousands of officers, youth and citizens through an interactive process of programming, teaching, training and research to better the relationship between the two. The TAPS Academy curriculum is taught in dozens of middle and high schools in order to reduce the social distance between youth and police. The curriculum has been recognized by the Texas Education Agency to grant one high school credit to students upon completion. Penn’s 2021 book Police and YOUth captures the tension of police and youth interaction and allows the reader to see solutions emerge through research, policy and practice.