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When the community sees the police are willing to work with an ex-con and the #1 program in the country to help their child, the police gain true partners. Most families have a member who made some serious mistakes and has a record. That person might be an addict, or at least they know of a relative or friend who made mistakes, and when the citizens see the police are willing to work with those people, the police gain trust.

“The first reaction people have is, SHOCK! When I’m standing with the chief of police or the cops”, said Larry Lawton. “That is what makes the community understand that the cops are good people and not just out to get them. They see a man who is out there trying to help the community and is willing to work with the police. It is a powerful statement”, said Lawton.

The police accept Larry Lawton, the first ex-con ever sworn in as an honorary police officer and the first ex-con ever recognized on the floor of the United States Congress. Getting police to buy into a program is important and Larry Lawton has that institutional credibility with both parts of the equation, the community and the police. When the police help a young person, they gain the whole families respect and trust. You might save a young man from making some very bad choices and you give the police another tool to help the citizens, an increase in officer moral has been a great benefit as well.

98% of all cops join the force to HELP people, we believe that. In law enforcement, it is the leadership that sets the tone. Young officers will follow the lead of the Chief. A community minded Chief uses the Reality Check Video Gift Card as a tool to help families, raise the moral of his officers, show the community they care and give the media something positive to report.

The definition of community policing by the Department of Justice COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) program is: Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.

Community Partnerships - Collaborative partnerships between the law enforcement agency and the individuals and organizations they serve to develop solutions to problems and increase trust in police is one of the main goals of the COPS.

Larry appears regularly on national TV and Radio as an expert on crime, teen issues and law enforcement community policing. ABC, CBS, NBC,

Larry Lawton is the only ex-con in the United States to be sworn in as an honorary police officer and only ex-con recognized on the Floor of the United States Congress for his work with helping young people and law enforcement agencies.

Larry brings the most informative and educational presentations to police agencies throughout the United States and abroad. Law Enforcement agencies use the Reality Check Video Card program as a community policing tool.

1. Helping a parent’s son or daughter is the single best thing a police agency can do 2. After watching the video the kid might "get

Police agencies, adults and young people listen to his message as he speaks their language with facts, truth and no sugarcoating.

A stocky, muscular man with a shaved head, tattoos covering his body and dark goatee; he is not their Father, Mother, Teacher or a Counselor, he is an ex-con and Honorary Police Officer with a passion for helping teens, young adults and police agencies. Larry Lawton spent 11 years in some of the toughest federal prisons in the country. He was convicted of jewelry robberies. Upon his release from prison, he developed the Reality Check Program.

Born and raised in the Bronx and Brooklyn NY, Larry spent six years in the Coast Guard before making some bad choices. While in prison Lawton saw, inmates stabbed and friends die. Larry studied to be a paralegal, became a gang mediator and worked doing legal cases for ten years. Larry kept his sanity by helping other inmates.

Lawton changes the way teens, young adults and law enforcement officers think. It’s all about choices, and Lawton tells his story of bad choices which led to serious consequences. How he lost time, his family, friends and his freedom; and that it just wasn’t worth it. Larry’s life shows that people do change and anybody can get up off the mat and be a success.

The nationally recognized Reality Check Program consists of four parts: Larry Lawton’s Life, What Prison is REALLY Like, What you will Lose and Avoiding and Dissolving Bad Associations. The Reality Check Video Card Program helps law enforcement break down the “Us Against Them” mentality some communities have with law enforcement. As Lawton says, “If your house is robbed, do you call 411 or 911? Everyone says 911, so we know we need the police, but we also need good police, we need police officers who know how to communicate with people and connect with the community.”

Lawton’s programs are recommended by politicians, police chiefs, sheriffs, judges, prosecutors, state attorneys and families all across the United States and abroad.