Procedure: School Security (From Crime to Court: Police Officer's Handbook, P 17-21, 1989, Joseph C. Coleman)

• NCJ Number: 120959
• Author(s): J C Coleman
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 5 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council
• Corporate Author: South Carolina Criminal Justice Acad
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Crime to Court is a monthly continuing education television program for law enforcement officers produced by S.C. ETV in cooperation with the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.

Annotation

Communication is the key in the cooperative efforts between school administrators, teachers, law enforcement officers, and the community to make schools safe for children.

Abstract

Accessibility to campuses, isolated areas within schools, and lack of supervision all contribute to school violence. Recommendations for school security include having police officers and school administrators take a walk around the campus together, instituting visitor regulations, installing sound alarms on doors out of sight of the school office, using convex mirrors to increase visibility in halls, and eliminating faculty restrooms. Weapons use may be reduced through combined efforts of the schools, parents, and law enforcement personnel. The community can help by protecting children traveling to and from school through various neighborhoods. Primary prevention and intervention techniques within the school are often successful in treating habitual juvenile offenders. Child protection services and other community agencies need to network with law enforcement agencies to become more effective. Finally, schools can share information on successes or even mistakes that have led to violence.