Few crimes are more heinous or heart-wrenching than those committed against children in our community. The Arlington Police Department and the Alliance For Children continue to lead the way in providing resources and assistance to our youngest victims of crime, and to bring those who would harm them to justice.
This year, that partnership is celebrating a significant milestone. For the past 30 years, APD and AFC have worked together to help children and their caretakers. It’s the Tarrant County non-profit’s longest standing relationship with any local law enforcement agency.
“As I’ve often said, we at the police department can’t fix the community’s problems on our own,” says Chief of Police Al Jones. “That’s why the Alliance For Children is such a valuable partner. They bring expertise and resources to the table that we could not otherwise provide to our child victims. They’ve built a vast network that includes law enforcement, healthcare providers, social workers, and specialists, which allows us to take a holistic approach to helping these kids and delivering justice. I’m incredibly proud of what APD and AFC have built over the last three decades and I have no doubt we will continue to make a difference for kids in the decades to come.”
Since 1992, AFC and its partner agencies have assisted more than 63,000 children across Tarrant County.
For many years now, APD’s Crimes Against Children Unit, which is made up of 20 department personnel, has been housed in AFC’s Arlington facility. This allows detectives to work alongside AFC staff and other professionals in a single space where child victims may feel more safe and comfortable sharing information that is critical to investigations.
Detectives and AFC staff also work together on educational campaigns that help raise public awareness on issues like child abuse prevention, human trafficking, and Internet safety.
“Alliance For Children is proud to call Arlington home,” says Julie Evans, CEO of AFC. “In partnership with the Arlington Police Department, we served our first child in August of 1992. Since then, we have grown to serve 63,000 children in our 30-year history. While it is an honor to serve and protect Tarrant County children, we long for the day when our services are no longer needed. Many of the forms of child abuse we see are preventable. We ask you to consider how you can protect the children in your lives and work with us to create a safe childhood for every child in our community.”
For more: allianceforchildren.org/resources
