The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) held a presentation, informing Watkins Mill students about law enforcement and community policing. The goal was to increase knowledge on basic federal, state, and local laws.

NOBLE is an organization with 3,000 members worldwide including CEOs and command law enforcement officials. Their goal is to eliminate racism in the field of criminal justice and increase cooperation within justice agencies.

Due to the recent increase in police brutality, NOBLE coordinator Earlene Wood Reynolds reached out to principal Carol Goddard to see if the group could hold a presentation at Watkins Mill. Goddard thought it was a great idea for Watkins Mill to be on the ground floor of creating change.   

“This is a very important topic that has affected our students and the community in which they live,” assistant principal Rhoshanda Pyles said. She would also like to have them come back for another session.

Within the 60-minute presentation, students participated in skits and shared personal stories and opinions about encounters with law enforcement. “It was a nice interactive event, not like a lecture you have to sit through,” senior Cheyenne King said. “They let you voice your opinion; they didn’t shut you down.”

The discussion focused around about three major components of communication with law enforcement: citizenship, law literacy, and law enforcement engagement.

The concept citizenship was talked about to provide a insightful view of how our government works and the roles that citizens play in the system.

Law literacy was talked about to increase knowledge on what happens when you commit a crime, specifically common crimes among teens, as well as to influence decision making so teens and young adults don’t commit such crimes.

The conversation of law enforcement engagement was designed to educate students on the proper ways to respond with encounters with law enforcement, especially how to handle police misconduct.

“I enjoyed the interaction with the students and watching the ‘light bulb’ turn on when a student discovers or reaches the a-ha moment about a particular topic that we are discussing,” Loudoun County Sergeant LaTriviette Young said.