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Tips To Avoid Gangs and Drugs
prepare for back-to-school now

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Tips To Avoid Gangs and Drugs
prepare for back-to-school now

by Patricia Price


The following are things you can help to do about crime and violence in our schools. Let's be safe and have a happy school year:

1. Talk and watch carefully. Travel with a group or with friend to and from school and school activities. Always be aware of your surroundings.

2. Accept responsibility. Do your part to make the school safe by following all school rules, including behavior codes, dress codes, and safety rules.

3. Never carry a weapon of any kind to school or anywhere. The risk of harm to yourself or the schools is too great. Any instrument used to attack another person can be considered a weapon, but firearms pose the greatest risk, multiplying the potential for serious injury and death.

4.Never join gangs, hang out with gang members, wear gang colors or gang type clothing, or use gang symbols or hand signs. This is a problem of image. If you look like a gang member or are seen with a gang member, rival gangs cannot tell the difference between you and the real gang member. You have a very good chance of being the innocent target of violent gang behavior.

5. Encourage the parents to become involved in our schools, meet the teachers and other school staff, and help with school activities. Take all school handouts, notices, and publications home to keep all parents informed of opportunities to be involved.

6. Have parents and school authorities report incidents of crime and violence such as weapons at school, theft, attacks on people or property, and any kind of bullying or harassment. Telling is not tattling--it is one of the most effective ways to reduce crime and violence on our campuses and in the community.

7. Have students work with their classmates to develop a school survey of student attitudes about drugs, crime, violence, and fear. Find out where and when crime, violence, or intimidation usually occurs on the campus.

8. Report your findings to the school administrators. Work with school staff, parents, and other students to develop and put into practice at the schools the following programs, if the school does not already have them:

a) A conflict mediation program designed to help students settle disputes and to diffuse potential fight situations.
b) A student-initiated program that empowers students to take positive action to prevent school violence.
c) A Crime Stoppers program for reporting campus crime. Call 1 / 800 / 245-0009 for more information.
d) A peer assistance program to help teach students how to be good peer helpers and to help welcome and integrate new students into the student body.
e) An overall school safety plan that includes behavior codes that are publicized widely to students and parents.
f)

A WE-TIP program, which is a national, toll-free hotline that receives information regarding gang violence or any major crime.

1 / 800-CRIME or 1 /800 / 782-7463

Please pass this information on so regardless of the police shortage we can have safe neighborhoods and schools.