Confrontations between youths and the police are increasingly frequent in the United States as police lead the effort to reduce youth gangs, crime, and violence. As a result, police‐youth relations are characterized by hostility, mistrust, misunderstandings and stereotypes. This article outlines a tenstage dialogue process to improve relations between police and gang‐related youths in a suburb near Washington, D.C. In addition to describing techniques used in this case, the authors offer advice on how such efforts could be improved.

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