I am like millions of other parents out there who are excited that the ایران آموزشگاه year has started and our kids are learning and having fun at school. When it comes to child safety, there is no bigger topic than school safety. We have all seen the rise in incidents of violence at schools all across the country.
The good news is that Law Enforcement and school systems have been working on making schools safer for our kids for a number of years now. The result has been a better understanding how to prevent and deal with school violence.
Many schools have a Police Officer(s) assigned full time to their schools and I cannot express how important this is. A school resource officer is a Police Officer who been selected to work in a school full time because she/he have particular traits/skills that make them a valuable tool to the school system. A school resource officer goes to an in-depth training school where they are trained how to prevent, deter, and respond to violence in schools.
A school resource officer spends 5 days a week in his/her assigned school and they perform their duties just like the Police Officers who patrol your neighborhood. They school resource officer patrols the school on foot which is important because of what we refer to as “high visibility” High visibility is when a Police Officer is routinely seen by the law abiding citizens and the criminal element.
The law abiding citizens feel more comfortable because they routinely see a Police Officer who is looking out for their safety. The criminal element refrains from doing crime in area where they frequently see a Police Officer on patrol. Criminals will move on to other areas to commit crimes when they see frequent Police patrols.
The school resource officer performs high visibility patrols by walking the school grounds and patrolling in his police car or golf cart. The simple task of frequently patrolling the school grounds is highly effective because it deters criminals from the outside entering the school with the intent of committing crimes.
The kids at the school also seen the school officer conducting routine patrols and this helps deter the “bad” or “at risk” kids from committing crimes. The school resource officer get to know every single kid in the school and he/she especially knows the “bad” and “at risk” kids. The school resource officer is trained to monitor the kids who may have the potential for committing crimes or violence while at school.
It is very easy for the school resource officer to determine the kids who should be closely monitored. Kids with arrest records or a prior history of violence are at the top of the list of kids to monitor. Your local Police Dept has files and information on everyone who gets arrested and your school resource officer has access to that information.
The school also keeps a file and information on kids who get into trouble and the school resource officer accesses that information. The technology that we have in Law Enforcement is amazing and it enables us to access and share information fast and efficiently.
Earlier I mentioned “at risk” kids and let me explain what I meant. Many schools have a system of identifying kids who may be troubled. Teaches and school officials are trained how to identify students who may be going through an emotional or personal crisis. Some schools identify these kids and they are approached and given assistance if needed.
I think this is a fantastic idea and I hope all schools adopt this policy. The way this works is a teacher or school official sees a child who is depressed or exhibiting unusual behavior. It could be the child is having a crisis at home, is being bullied, etc. Someone at the school speaks with the child and his/her parents to ascertain if there is indeed issues going on with the child. If there are issues with the child, help can be given.
Many schools also employ high tech video surveillance so that the students can be monitored at every location in the school. Video surveillance can capture suspicious activity that can then be dealt with by the school resource officer. Video technology is highly advanced and 1 person monitoring a school security camera system is like having dozens of Police Officers patrolling the school grounds.
Call your school’s district office and ascertain what they have implemented to combat and deter school violence. Open house is a good time to find out what type of security measures your child’s school employs. If your school does not have a school police officer, start and effort to get one.
Ask your school administrator if they have a system to identify “at risk” kids and if not, talk with the administration about the benefits of having such a system in place. Always strive to not let yourself become complacent about your child’s safety while at school.