Fulton County Superior Court Clerk Che Alexander dances to 803 Fresh's "Boots on the Ground" at the @Promise Field Day, held at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center on Friday, June 27, 2025. (Chamian Cruz/WABE)
The City of Atlanta is leading an effort to try to keep kids out of trouble this summer by helping them find other ways to spend their time.
More than 700 young people on Friday, June 27, participated in the sixth annual @Promise Field Day — the first to be held at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.
The 85-acre, multi-million-dollar facility opened in April, but not before becoming the site of scores of protests by activists who say it’ll lead to over-policing in the city. A demonstrator was killed protesting its construction more than two years ago.
However, the highly controlled environment was different on this day, with kids running around and 803 Fresh’s “Boots on the Ground” playing on loudspeakers.
The Atlanta Police Department recently used the song in a recruitment video and had it go viral. City and county officials, like Ché Alexander, the clerk of Fulton County Superior Court, danced to the song at the event.
Fulton County Superior Court Clerk Che Alexander and Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum dance at a youth event at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center on Friday, June 27, 2025. (Chamian Cruz/WABE)
The kids who participated came from six organizations across the city, including YMCA, Chris 180 and @Promise Youth Centers that are managed by the Atlanta Police Foundation. The private nonprofit raises money for the city’s police department and helped fund the training center along with the city.
Thirteen-year-old Nalani Walker said she’s become more confident and made new friends since she started going to one of the three @Promise centers in the city for people aged 12-24. A fourth is set to open next year.
“I want to be an entrepreneur and do like nails and hair,” Walker said. “For now, I’m just doing my family’s hair and my mom’s hair, and it’s been really great!”
Around the field, there are misting fans, inflatable basketball hoops, axe-throwing games and a few of the police department’s mounted patrol horses. Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said it’s all part of the city’s broader “Year of the Youth” initiative, which aims to reduce overall crime by stopping kids from committing crimes, especially in the summer when school is out.
An Atlanta fire recruit throws a football at the @Promise Field Day at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center on Friday, June 27, 2025. (Chamian Cruz/WABE)
“This is just as important as crime fighting as 10 police officers are,” Schierbaum said. “Today, they are off the street, they’re doing something fun, they’re connecting with their firefighters and police officers, so this does reduce crime. And any gang that wants to try to steal the heart of our young people, this is what they’re up against.”
Schierbaum said Atlanta is poised to close the first half of the year with a drop in homicides, shootings, car-thefts and break-ins. Nationally, there’s also been a notable decrease in violent crime, though categories like shoplifting have seen increases.
According to NPR, city officials around the country often point to policing as a key component of why crime falls, highlighting how many officers a city has or how they’re being deployed. That can play an important role, but crime analysts say the reasons behind these drops are more complex and broader, including a city’s ability to bring back public services that were ripped away during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Atlanta, the city has been busy hiring new police officers, and the city’s police department is helping run two youth camps this year with 124 students, according to Schierbaum. But, the city of Atlanta and Fulton County also opened the Center for Diversion and Services earlier this year, designed for people experiencing challenges with mental health, substance use and poverty.
Additionally, the national Coalition to Advance Public Safety has invested $500,000 in Atlanta to expand and strengthen local programs that support people at the highest risk of being victims or perpetrators of violence. It comes as the Trump administration eliminated about $500 million in grants to organizations that buttress public safety, including many working to prevent gun violence.
