School Crime and Safety (October 15, 2009)
This week BJA and Office of Justice Programs (OJP) staff met with officials from the U.S. Department of Education to discuss the issue of school crime and safety and how we can work together to ensure that schools are "safe zones" and centers of learning and growth that we count on them to be. Programs such as BJA's Gang Resistance Education And Training (G.R.E.A.T.) and the National Crime Prevention Council's (NCPC) Be Safe and Sound and other evidence-based strategies were on the list of topics. A few days ago, BJA and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) jointly made available the Guide for Preventing and Responding to School Violence, a publication compiled by IACP's Private Sector Liaison Committee with BJA funding. The 41-page Guide covers all aspects of school violence prevention, including the critical topics of prevention, community engagement, student engagement, threat assessment, legal considerations and working with the media.
Going forward, we will continue to explore opportunities to collaborate with other federal, state and local partners and our partners in the private and non-profit sectors on priorities such as preventing school and community violence. Using the latest evidence on what strategies are effective and leveraging resources within and outside of OJP and DOJ, we can fulfill the promise of safe and drug-free schools.
