San Mateo police present youth services unit; councilors urge schools to restore SRO funding

The San Mateo Police Department gave a detailed briefing on its Youth Services Unit at a May 5 special meeting of the San Mateo City Council, describing an array of programs that department leaders said serve children across the city and county and help reduce juvenile reoffending.

Lieutenant Kimber Joyce, who oversees the unit, told the council the work is guided by “mentoring today, building tomorrow, and strengthening our community,” and outlined four connected components: the Police Activities League (PAL), diversion and prevention services, the Explorer program and youth services officers (YSOs), including the department’s therapy canine, Rookie.

The presentation emphasized scope and outcomes. Joyce said PAL serves “almost 1,500 kids” and that more than 90% of PAL participants report low to very low income. Sergeant Tracy Unga described PAL’s scholarship program, which expanded from 11 to 17 recipients this year, and said PAL runs recurring community events — Backpackpalooza (more than 400 backpacks distributed last year), a mental-health 5K on May 31, Junior Giants (about 400 participants in recent years), cultural performances and seasonal events such as brunch with Santa and Santa Cop.

On prevention and diversion, department leaders described a team-based juvenile…