Staying atop slang, social media helps DARE officers know what students are up to

KAILUA-KONA — Police officers may not be the most hip, happening people, but those who work with youth have to find a way to form a real connection with the students.

That can be difficult to do.

“Keeping it real” is one of the key ways to know about what youth are up to, said school resource Officer Chere Rae Kalili during DARE training Friday at King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel, the final day of the three-day seminar that focused on keeping kids off drugs.

She’s worked at Kealakehe Intermediate School for the last two school years, where she is known as Officer Lokahi, and maintains “keeping it real” means developing honest, open, evolving relationships with students that entails staying aware of the constant changes in trends.

Because trends move fast and you can be out of touch tomorrow if you don’t keep up, which she’s learned the hard way.

“It’s crazy to think I would be out of touch,” she said.

But that has happened before. Now, she works to keep close to the students, using the digital tools they do and follows their language. Knowing how kids communicate, and the language they use, makes it easier to observe what’s going on around the community. Without that avenue, figuring out what they’re up to can be as difficult as trying to understand a foreign language.

“With the ease of technology, with the access we have, there’s no reason we shouldn’t know what’s going on with our kids,” Kalili said.

For her, part of that is checking her Instagram, seeing the activity of her students in the public section of the site. But keeping up with that requires knowledge of what people are using. During the presentation, she projected a screen full of websites, both social media and media sharing, from stalwarts like Facebook to newer programs like music.ly.

But those forums change, too, so keeping up on where to even look takes just as much effort. That’s evident by the decline of the formerly dominant Kik Messenger.

When she began her time as an SRO, Kalili said getting students “past the uniform” was one of her major challenges. One way she did so was keeping up with dance moves — that’s part of what it means to keep it real — such as the hip hop favorite Whip/Nae Nae.

And yes, that can require dancing in uniform, to make it clear “you’re not just the police lady.”

“I tell you, if you do these with your kids they will be like, ‘Yes,’ and you’re in,” she said.

But dances are not enough, she said, as adults need to follow thrill-seeking games and challenges students catch on to that can be dangerous. Many of the games leave signs that may be mistaken for other injuries, or ignored, if adults are not remaining on top of what their kids are up to.

One such game is a cold endurance, trying to keep ice and additives pressed against the skin as long as possible, which can leave blisters that can be mistaken for self-inflicted cuts.

She’s also seen potentially deadly games at school, of which adults were oblivious.

“Why is everyone pushing on each other’s chests?” Kalili remembers thinking the first time she encountered “the choking game” at school.

Later she realized it was an attempt to experience the euphoria of near-suffocation. Without keeping up, she might not have realized what was going on.

The prevalence of music is another way to maintain contact with youth, along with a route to new dangers.

The increased popularity of “purple drank” or “syrup,” a combination of prescription-strength cough syrup and soft drinks, sometimes with ice or candy added, can be traced in part to it being featured in music songs.

The combination can be dangerous, as it reportedly led to rapper Lil Wayne being hospitalized in critical condition before the hip hop star recovered.

Remaining in contact with the scene can allow adults to pick up on such seemingly innocuous terms.

Other slang can be confusing, like “turnt up” for being extremely intoxicated or high, or “turned up” for a party.

She said parents should know their children’s passwords, and use the time that devices are charging as a way to check on their social media.

Parents are paying the bills for the equipment, so they have a right to the information those devices are providing.

“That is your kuleana,” Kalili said.