ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Police Department hopes to help their communities on Friday nights this summer.

What You Need To Know

  •  Ballin' After Dark is taking place each Friday this summer

  •  It's free, with officers playing hoops with children

  •  Teen crime goes up in the summer, according to OPD chief

Each Friday night, OPD is hosting Ballin’ After Dark, a night of basketball with officers from the department.

On average, 100 kids from all over Orlando and surrounding communities participate until 11 p.m.

Chief Eric Smith recently said that when school is out for the summer, teen crime goes up. The hope is events like this not only give teens something to do but help bring unity to the community as well.

Entering the Englewood Neighborhood Center at around 7:30 p.m Friday, Cpl. Carlos Hill is yelling to go in the game.

A game of basketball was already underway between neighborhood teens and a handful of OPD officers.

This type of work is typically not part of Hill’s day job.

“It’s all about understanding, communication and education,” Hill said. "We do that through interaction. The more we get to stop and communicate with youth, the more they understand who we are, what we represent.”

Growing up in the Panhandle, Hill says officers use to stop in the park for pickup games when he was a kid. It made an impact on him, and now the father of one gives his time every Friday.

“Now when these kids go back and say, 'I had a good interaction playing basketball with cops,' the cops the firefighters they show up,” Hill says. “That's amazing and it plants the seed in a sense of understanding the relationship between public servants and the public.”

It's free for children to take part. Parents know they’ll be in a safe environment for several hours.

Candice Washington, who dropped off her two children for Ballin’ After Dark on Friday, hopes her children take advantage of the time and opportunity.

“In those hours that the kids are you know maybe wanting to get into something, hang out with their friends, get into other activities that they shouldn’t, they have this opportunity and come to a rec center,” Washington said. “It’s open late, that's a plus, that's when kids do like to get together and get into trouble.”

The only trouble on this scene are a couple of missed shots at the rim, but not in life.

“While we are playing, we are also coaching and mentoring,” Hill said, shaking hands after a game. “Next time make this move, or next time take the shot, so as we are playing we are also mentoring and talking.”

It's a game where the score truly doesn’t matter.

Next week’s Ballin' After Dark with OPD will be at the Northwest Neighborhood Center in the Mercy Drive community from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.