Our Mission:

	Prevent youth crime in Delaware by providing youth between the ages of 8 to 18 with supervised athletic, educational, and social development activities.
	Reach out to youth with programs which address citizenship, self-esteem, substance abuse, and respect for law and order.
	Encourage participation and support by the community in P.A.L. programs to help build a solid foundation for Delaware's youth- for life.

Hockessin P.A.L. Center

Our PAL Center located in Hockessin has gathered over a 5,000 members since our opening on March 29, 2001. Throughout the school year our hours are: Monday to Friday 2:30-7:00. We offer homework club, tutoring, Internet access computer room, game room, weight room and open gym. Our summer schedule at the Center is- Monday-Friday 12:00-6:00 PM. The activities that are offered include: basketball, volleyball, tennis, wrestling, computers with cable Internet access, exercise room (14 years old and up) basketball tournaments and baseball clinics.

"Far too many youngsters make their first contact with a policeman in unsavory circumstances. The P.A.L. philosophy is to remedy that situation by ensuring that the first encounter of the youth and the policeman is in a positive environment on the friendly field of sports competition."

It started when a gang of New York toughs, harassing storekeepers and generally making life miserable in their neighborhood, threw a rock through a storekeeper's window.

Lt. Ed W. Flynn, New York Police Department Crime Prevention Bureau, took on the case and tracked down the ringleader in hopes of finding out just exactly what was responsible for the kids' anti-social behavior.

The kids complained: "We ain't got no place to play-nothing to do. The cops are always hasslin' us. We can't even play baseball."

That was all it took for Lt. Flynn, a staunch baseball fan himself, to get things rolling. "Why," he reasoned, "should the police chase kids from doing what was normal? Why not help those kids form a team? Give them a place to play under police supervision. Be a friend instead of an enemy." He talked it over with some of his fellow officers and some of the neighbor- hood shopkeepers. They liked the idea and each chipped in a dollar for equipment and uniforms.

Lt. Flynn found a playground where the gang could play under the eye of a policeman. The team was an instant success. By the end of that summer, there were a dozen teams-followed by an indoor youth center. And P.A.L. was born.

PAL founders Scott Phillips, John Cunningham and Thomas Gordon. PAL of Delaware was founded by three New Castle County Police Officers in 1984. Thomas Gordon, John Cunningham, and Scott Phillips recognized the need in Delaware for a PAL chapter. With the support of the community, they were able to start the first PAL in Delaware. The 35,000 square foot site in Garfield Park opened in 1994, and the newest site in Hockessin opened in March 2001 .

While P.A.L. relies heavily on athletics and recreational activities to draw youngsters into the program to create camaraderie between cops and kids, the main thrust of the program is to steer kids right to keep them from going wrong. P.A.L. is based on the strong belief that children, if reached early enough, can develop a strong, positive attitude towards police officers that will help them significantly in becoming good citizens on their journey to adulthood.

Some factors influencing today's youth are lacking parental love, guidance and understanding, lack of role models, low self-esteem, drugs, peer pressure and boredom.