Pasadena PAL Program

What is the Police Activities League?

The Pasadena Police Department’s Police Activities League, in partnership with The Salvation Army - Pasadena, offers a positive alternative to middle and high school students in the Pasadena area.

During the school year, PAL provides transportation to its members from select school campuses to the PAL center. The PAL program offers:

Positive Role Models
Mentoring
College Preparation  

Pasadena PAL has served over 3,000 youth and sponsored activities such as: arts & crafts, computer classes, culinary arts, dances, field trips, gymnastics, jewelry making, tutoring and personal development; as well as local, state and national tournaments in basketball, golf, karate, soccer and softball. PAL art instruction is provided by artists knowledgeable and experienced in various art mediums.

Pasadena PAL Highlights

The Salvation Army was awarded the Community Partnership Award by California PAL for demonstrating outstanding support, encouragement and assistance to Pasadena PAL.  PAL youth have competed in the Southern Section California PAL basketball, soccer, softball, golf, and martial arts tournaments.  PAL youth from the Youth Directors Council have participated in the Anaheim Experience in Anaheim, California, which includes a field trip to the state capital where selected students meet and interact with elected government officials.

The PAL staff can provide additional information concerning the hours of operation, and about other special events planned throughout the year. Previous summer activities have included: golf, swimming, pool and video game tournaments, excursions to beaches and theme parks, and camping adventures.

Location

The PAL Center
960 East Walnut Street.

After School hours are
3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
Monday – Thursday.

You can receive tutoring, computer training, or play video games, billiards, ping pong, jump rope and other games. You can even go bicycling, play basketball, volleyball or just relax with friends!

Click on the link below to view PAL's membership application:

The Pasadena Police Department has long been involved in the health and welfare of the young people in its community. From the intervention of the Youth and Family Services Section to the School Resource Officers and the DARE program, the department strives to turn the tide on gangs and drugs by touching as may young people as possible. To further enhance our existing programs the Pasadena Police Department began a Police Activities League (PAL) program in 1997.

PAL is a youth crime prevention program that relies on educational, athletic, and other recreational activities to develop and maintain a bond between police officers and youth of the community. Officers and civilian personnel from the Pasadena Police Department volunteer their time to Pasadena’s youth by providing alternatives to delinquency. In some cases it may be just a listening ear or help with a homework assignment. On occasion it might mean a field trip to a sporting event, a hike, or another type of outing. The immediate focus always remains the same, diverting kids from boredom, apathy, loneliness and the countless problems associated with growing up today.

The purpose of PAL is the same today as it was the day the crime prevention program began during the 1930’s. PAL gives kids a chance to become respectful citizens by developing a special bond among police officers, youth and the community.

PAL started with a bang -- a rock through a window. A youth gang in New York City, harassing storekeepers and generally making life miserable in the neighborhood, caused the problem that pioneered this approach to juvenile delinquency.

A police lieutenant of the New York Police Department’s Crime Prevention Bureau liked kids. He wondered at the uselessness of always punishing them. He wondered whether kids might be touched before they got in trouble. He searched out the gang’s ringleader. They talked, and the lieutenant listened for reasons behind the kids’ antisocial behavior. He learned of the kids frustration of the ghetto: no place to go, nothing to do and of being hassled by the police even for playing baseball in the street. The lieutenant wondered, why not help the kids form a team?  Give them a place to play under police supervision.  Be a friend instead of an enemy.

The lieutenant found a playground where the gang could play under the eye of friendly police officers. The team was an instant success. Before the year ended, there where close to a dozen such teams in the city.

California PAL is a non profit organization formed to provide assistance to the various Police and Sheriff Activities Leagues located throughout the State of California.

Check out their web site: http://www.calpal.org/

PAL has since broadened its scope to include arts and crafts, dance, music, drama, social services, vocational guidance, remedial reading, field trips and virtually any healthy activity that kids enjoy.