The new “Reality Check” program from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office is giving teens a firsthand look at the criminal justice process
The “Reality Check” program is a new effort from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office to help youth facing trouble change course. Public Information Officer, Dave Teems, says the program focuses, not scare tactics.
“I don’t think that reaches very well in a lot of cases. Our job is to educate these kids. Show them what happens if they continue down the path they’re currently on, show them what happens when they make better decisions. We put them through scenarios to where they can see from the law enforcement officer’s perspective what happens when we do traffic stops, when we go to domestic violence situations. We even put them through a shoot or no shoot scenario.”
Teems says the Sheriff’s Office values positive interactions with the public. He says people typically only interact with sheriff’s officers when a negative situation like an arrest is taking place.
