June 10, 2025
Learning for Life, Exploring, and Scouting America are updating the standard regarding Ride-Alongs for all programs, including but not limited to Law Enforcement Exploring. When youth under 18 years of age participate in Ride-Alongs, all parties involved must adhere to all current Safeguarding Youth policies and guidelines (formerly known as Youth Protection) for all participants. This includes ensuring that at least two registered adult leaders, each 21 years of age or older and trained in Safeguarding Youth or Youth Protection, are present for the Ride-Along. If the Ride-Along includes a female youth participant, at least one of the registered adult leaders participating in the Ride-Along must also be female.
This standard is mandatory and takes effect on June 30, 2025; however, it should be implemented as soon as possible. While we acknowledge that this change may pose challenges in certain Ride-Along scenarios, it must be strictly enforced to guarantee the safety of both our youth participants and adult leaders.
We will update other documents that refer to Ride-Alongs soon. In the meantime, please ensure that your units participating in Ride-Alongs are notified about the standard and its effective date. Additionally, remind the Participating Organization to verify that all adults, including young adult participants (aged 18-20), are current with their Youth Protection Training or promptly complete the Safeguarding Youth training. You may access the training at: https://www.scouting.org/training/youth-protection/
If you have any questions concerning this update, please reach out to your local council.