— BONNIE N. DAVIS

A new interactive program, “Give It, Get It: Trust and Respect between Teens and Law Enforcement,” is Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring’s latest initiative to help educate teens about their rights and responsibilities when interacting with law enforcement.

The program, developed with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), is a guide to positive encounters with law enforcement.

It also teaches young people about their right to remain silent, when to consent to or refuse a search in certain situations, and how to access an attorney.

Mr. Herring announced the new program Monday at the 16th Annual Virginia School and Campus Safety Training Forum in Hampton. Conference attendees included more than 1,000 school resource officers, administrators and security personnel.

The program is designed to help keep situations from escalating to endanger the life of an officer or young person or that might result in criminal or civil charges, according to Mr. Herring.

Role playing and situational discussions to help young people and officers develop a better understanding of what each sees and experiences during an interaction are components of the program.

“For more than two years, I’ve been having conversations with law enforcement, parents, ministers, community leaders and others about how we can meet our dual goals of making sure that police can keep our communities safe while guaranteeing that everyone is treated fairly and equally,” said Mr. Herring.

During his announcement, the attorney general noted the concerns among African-American and Latino parents who “worry about their child reacting to police in a moment of panic and either getting in more trouble or even creating a potentially dangerous situation.”

Mr. Herring said “Give It, Get It” will provide officers “additional training on implicit bias and other 21st century policing skills, and I think it will be a really powerful tool for strengthening the bonds between our law enforcement community and the next generation.”

“Give It, Get It” will be a module in “Virginia Rules,” a law-based educational program to help young people learn the law, how to stay safe and make good decisions.

More than 1,500 law enforcement officers, school resource officers, commonwealth’s attorneys and community leaders are certified “Virginia Rules” instructors. In 2016, more than 45,000 Virginia students participated in the program.

“Give It, Get It” will be available online to Virginia Rules instructors by Aug. 19, in time for use during the new school year.