CROWLEY, La. (KLFY) - Crowley's Chief of Police wants to build trust between the youth and his department to change the view of law enforcement.

He also believes reaching the youth is key to decreasing violence in the city.

He said "Right now in Crowley on the weekends and after school and stuff like that, there's no place for the kids to go."

Police Chief Troy Hebert said the lack of things to do for young people in the community leads to increased crime. He wants to his department to get involved in reaching the youth to let them know law enforcement is there for them and his department cares. He has plans to create programs for young people in an effort to keep them off the streets.

"We're going to raise some money and we're going to purchase some equipment for the kids and donate it to the youth centers," he said.

In addition to law enforcement wanting to bridge the gap, people in the community like William Faulk said it is up to the community to be willing as well.

Faulk said people should be friendlier to police.

"You know I don't like all of them, but they are trying to do service to us and they're trying do why don't we try to, to be more friendly to them," Faulk said.

Others like Keyla Jackson said parents are also key in helping to build a relationship with law enforcement. She said parents need to get more involved with their kids.

Just like Hebert, Jackson agrees programs will help keep the youth off of the streets.

She said, "I think the world would be way better I think the violence would stop, maybe get them into some kind of programs, talk about it with them, groups, even if we have to open up a camp of something with them just to tell them this is not the way to go."

Chief Herbert said it's not only his goal to build trust between the youth, but also Crowley's community.