202 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
202 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
|
||
|
||
|
||
SCHOOL CRIME STOPPERS
|
||
|
||
By
|
||
|
||
Bob Chance
|
||
Major, Commander of the Uniform Division Southwest
|
||
Tulsa, Oklahoma, Police Department
|
||
|
||
|
||
Of all the crime prevention programs developed by citizen
|
||
action organizations and law enforcement agencies across the
|
||
country, few address the crimes that take place within schools.
|
||
Yet, nationwide statistics indicate that 24 percent of all
|
||
violent crimes involving teens, ages 12-19, occur in the
|
||
schools. (1) And, this age group registers the highest
|
||
incidence of crimes committed against them. (2)
|
||
|
||
The Tulsa, Oklahoma, Police Department became acutely aware
|
||
of this problem when it experienced a significant increase in
|
||
both calls for service and the need for directed patrol
|
||
assignments at the city's East Central High School.
|
||
Unfortunately, the crimes occurring at East Central were
|
||
representative of the problems encountered at the other 12 city
|
||
high schools, where students witnessed assaults, drug dealings,
|
||
vandalism, violent behavior against other students and teachers,
|
||
or larcenies almost on a daily basis.
|
||
|
||
Recognizing the need for directed action against such
|
||
crimes, several officers and police supervisors met with the
|
||
director of Tulsa's Citizens Crime Commission to look for ways
|
||
to reduce, and hopefully eliminate, these criminal activities.
|
||
After much discussion on the various options available, they
|
||
decided that a Crime Stoppers Program in the schools could
|
||
provide the answer. Their next step, however, was to sell the
|
||
program to school administrators and high school students.
|
||
|
||
SELLING THE PROGRAM
|
||
|
||
In November 1989, the police department invited principals
|
||
from schools within the targeted area and the Citizens Crime
|
||
Commission director to attend a meeting at a police substation.
|
||
The purpose was to discuss the feasibility of instituting crime
|
||
prevention programs within area high schools. At this meeting,
|
||
the police discovered that school administrators were just as
|
||
frustrated as they were by the crime problem. When the
|
||
possibility of a Crime Stoppers Program was mentioned, school
|
||
administrators from East Central High School received this idea
|
||
so enthusiastically that they agreed to participate in the pilot
|
||
program. The next step was to sell the idea to the student
|
||
body.
|
||
|
||
To do this, police officials and school administrators
|
||
spoke to journalism students at East Central High School who
|
||
published the school's newspaper. They hoped that through "the
|
||
power of the written word," they could get students to support
|
||
a crime prevention program in the school. Once officers
|
||
presented the concept of the program, the students agreed that
|
||
this could be the answer to decreasing crime within their school
|
||
and volunteered to work on such a project. After the East
|
||
Central Student Council and the staff at the Education Service
|
||
Center agreed to back the program, the journalism students set
|
||
out to develop and implement a program that would meet the needs
|
||
of their school.
|
||
|
||
DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM
|
||
|
||
School administrators, the Citizens Crime Commission, and
|
||
the Tulsa Police Department made themselves available to serve
|
||
as advisors. In addition, the Citizens Crime Commission
|
||
provided the funds needed to start up this pilot project. But,
|
||
it was the journalism class that put the project into motion.
|
||
|
||
To begin, the journalism students conducted a survey of the
|
||
student body to determine if other students believed crime to be
|
||
a major issue in the school and to what extent. A total of 608
|
||
students of the 1371 enrolled were surveyed. Responses showed
|
||
that 60 percent of those surveyed had been crime victims, 39
|
||
percent agreed that crime in the school was a major issue, and
|
||
49 percent stated they would report a crime committed by someone
|
||
they knew. With the survey results and other statistical data
|
||
on teenage crime, the journalism class began to put together the
|
||
framework for a Crime Stoppers Program. This would include an
|
||
avenue for reporting crimes, as well as providing information
|
||
leading to the arrest and prosecution of the offenders.
|
||
|
||
First, they devoted six pages in one edition of the school
|
||
newspaper to crime-related information and the Crime Stoppers
|
||
Program. This particular edition was given free of charge to
|
||
each member of the student body. In this edition, they
|
||
emphasized that crime prevention produces a better learning
|
||
environment and stressed the need for student involvement.
|
||
|
||
Then, the journalism students and their teacher came up
|
||
with the idea to design and produce a "credit card" for each
|
||
student. Not only would the credit card be used to gain support
|
||
from the rest of the student body for the program, but it would
|
||
give students access to basic crime prevention information, such
|
||
as the Crime Stoppers number and how to report crimes. This
|
||
information also included the fact that the students did not
|
||
have to reveal their identity and that rewards of up to $1,000
|
||
could be obtained in cases of arrest and prosecution of felons.
|
||
Fifteen hundred of these credit cards were to be distributed at
|
||
a school assembly. The Citizens Crime Commission paid for the
|
||
free newspapers distributed and for printing the credit cards.
|
||
|
||
WORKINGS OF THE PROGRAM
|
||
|
||
The program allows students to report crimes by placing the
|
||
information in the school's crime report box. To aid in
|
||
reporting a crime or to give information about a crime committed,
|
||
including any suspects, the students developed their own simple
|
||
report form. The form provides for student anonymity.
|
||
|
||
Informants wishing to remain anonymous can also call the
|
||
Metro Crime Stoppers number. These informants are issued an
|
||
in-house code number or Crime Stoppers ID number that guarantees
|
||
the confidentiality of the informant's identity.
|
||
|
||
The program also calls for an administrative liaison who is
|
||
responsible for administering the program at the school. This
|
||
individual collects reports from the school's crime report box
|
||
and also talks directly to students having any information on
|
||
crimes occurring within the school.
|
||
|
||
Informants who are not concerned if they are identified may
|
||
go directly to the administrative liaison and give the
|
||
information. If the information goes beyond school
|
||
jurisdiction, the administrative liaison advises the informant
|
||
to contact the Metro Crime Stoppers Program. Crime Stoppers
|
||
then turns over the information to the officer assigned to work
|
||
the case.
|
||
|
||
Once a crime is reported, the administrative liaison
|
||
presents the information obtained to the Student Crime Review
|
||
Board. This board meets once a week and is composed of
|
||
volunteer students, who may choose to remain anonymous. The
|
||
board's function is to advertise and to promote the program, to
|
||
raise funds, and to make decisions on rewards to be paid. The
|
||
board can recommend an appropriate reward for the informant if
|
||
the crime is solved. However, the final say on rewards rests
|
||
with the Metro Crime Stoppers Board, since all rewards come from
|
||
the Tulsa Metro Crime Stoppers Program.
|
||
|
||
Under no circumstances does any student board member
|
||
receive information or become involved with the investigation of
|
||
a case. They are not given any information on victims or
|
||
suspects.
|
||
|
||
Cases are assigned for investigation according to
|
||
jurisdiction. Felony crimes will be investigated by the Tulsa
|
||
Police Department. Misdemeanor crimes are either handled
|
||
administratively through the school or turned over to the police
|
||
for investigation, depending on the circumstances. The school
|
||
handles all administrative problems reported.
|
||
|
||
The school newspaper notifies students of crimes reported
|
||
and the reward offered for information on each crime. Such
|
||
notices are also placed on the Crime Stoppers bulletin board in
|
||
the main lobby, the daily school bulletin, or the electronic
|
||
bulletin board. Notices of each crime remain on the Crime
|
||
Stoppers bulletin board for the entire school year. If it is
|
||
solved, it is marked accordingly, but left posted.
|
||
|
||
STUDENTS IN ACTION
|
||
|
||
February 2, 1990, marked the official kickoff of the
|
||
school's Crime Stoppers Program at a special assembly. Each
|
||
student received a copy of the school newspaper and a Crime
|
||
Stoppers "master card." In addition, school administrators,
|
||
representatives from the Citizens Crime Commission, and officers
|
||
from the Tulsa Police Department spoke to the students about the
|
||
program and the importance of student involvement. And, the
|
||
Mayor of Tulsa issued a proclamation declaring that day to be
|
||
"East Central High School Crime Stoppers Day."
|
||
|
||
During the first month of operation, students reported five
|
||
crimes through the school's Crime Stoppers Program. Subsequent
|
||
information provided by East Central High School students
|
||
resulted in two of the crimes being solved.
|
||
|
||
CONCLUSION
|
||
|
||
The students of East Central High School are making an
|
||
investment in their school and their community by initiating a
|
||
Crime Stoppers Program. With the help of school administrators
|
||
and police officials, every student is working to alleviate the
|
||
crime problems they face and to reap the rewards of attending a
|
||
school where the learning environment has been improved through
|
||
crime prevention.
|
||
|
||
|
||
FOOTNOTES
|
||
|
||
(1) Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Teenage Victims: A
|
||
National Crime Survey Report," November 1986.
|
||
|
||
(2) "Teenagers: Crime's Most Frequent Target,"National
|
||
Crime Prevention Council Resource Center, Washington, DC, 1983.
|
||
|