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