The Legal Aid Society and Red Hook Initiative have announced the inaugural Know Your Rights Ambassador Training Series, which will educate students about the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) gang database, police encounters and youth organizing, as reported by Brooklyn Paper. Upon completion of the training, participants become youth ambassadors who will continue to facilitate Know Your Rights workshops around these critical topics.

The 12-week training curriculum will focus on the rights that New Yorkers have to protect themselves from illegal police searches and other acts of misconduct. Attendees will also learn about the NYPD’s gang raid tactics, and ways to fight the Department’s overinclusive gang labeling. Youth ambassadors will also learn how to become skillful and knowledgeable presenters to conduct workshops around this issue with their peers.

“We see firsthand how the NYPD employs illegal and unethical tactics to target our clients, fueling the carceral system that has long preyed on communities of color,” said Anthony Posada, Supervising Attorney in the Community Justice Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “It is critical that we build awareness and expand education efforts to provide the tools to youth to not only advocate for themselves about these harmful policing tactics, but to pass that knowledge forward and edify future generations.”