Welcome to the 17th Annual Youth & Justice Forum.

Who We Are

Focused On Solutions

The annual Youth & Justice Forum creates constructive connections between kids, cops and the community to help improve communication, build trust, (re)establish mutual respect and reduce the likelihood of negative interactions and outcomes. Brainstormed in 2009, the Forum was a direct byproduct of a working relationship between the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Bolden Area Command (Metro), the Metro-affiliated Sheriff’s African-American Recruitment Council, the Las Vegas branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the nonprofit Uplift Foundation of Nevada, the Kappa Xi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and the Epsilon Psi Sigma Chapter of Ph Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

From 2010-12 the event was held at the College of Southern Nevada. In 2012, then-Nevada State Assemblywoman Dina Neal, the Las Vegas Branch of the National Bar Association, the Nevada Black Police Officers Association, and Black law students and Black graduate students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, conducted a similar event. In 2013, both groups joined to create the Youth & Justice Forum to improve communication and build trust between youth and local law enforcement. Since the Forum’s inception, more than 2,000 youth and families have been educated about their rights and responsibilities at home, in school and out in the community and have learned the proper ways to navigate contact with law enforcement and the justice system.