Easily America's largest juvenile crime prevention program with over three million youth members throughout the United States, its territories and Canada. The National PAL encompasses more than 500 cities, counties and townships.

Each is as varied as the town or city in which it operates. Some chapters include sports programs o­nly, others just a few individual sports. Still others add crafts, educational programs, and the like. Each PAL chapter is tailored to the area in which it operates ... geared to the specific needs of the community it serves. State PAL started with Albuquerque, Roswell, and Gallup; and started Camp Courage.

The state organization, headquartered since 1995 in Albuquerque, and the national organization, headquartered since 1984 in North Palm Beach, Florida, provide an experienced and professional staff to oversee their operations.Both State and National PAL provide a forum for pooling of information, promote national training seminars for a productive exchange of ideas, develop fund-raising programs, initiate publicity projects to put PAL in the eye of the nation, develop regional and national tournaments, publish a state and national newspaper, and in general, provide the services required of a central clearinghouse office for so wide and varied a program.In each case, the immediate aim is to reach neighborhood youths who are without recreational affiliations, who face boredom, apathy, loneliness, and the countless problems of the city.

The long range goal is to reach these youngsters before they become delinquents. While many excellent youth programs exist throughout the country, PAL, the Police Athletic League, is unique in that it adds a very important new dimension. It adds the Police officers.