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Laura Collins
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1 year ago
in Milford forum says awareness key on Nashua Telegraph
GANGS GROW IN SUBURBAN SCHOOLS
The US Department of Justice has released a report that states the growth of criminal gangs is increasing in all socio economic areas of the country, http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs11/13157/index.htm . SERAPH who provides school safety consulting to over 20,000 schools in the U.S. has observed a dramatic increase in gang recruitment in suburban schools.
Ron Holvey, Gang Interdiction Special Consultant http://seraph.net/about_ron_holvey.html for SERAPH explains the problem, “School officials have been caught off guard by the rise of gangs in suburban areas. Straight Edge, Juggalos, Crips and Bloods have all been recruiting juveniles in these areas of the country.”
The US Department of Justice has released a report that states the growth of criminal gangs is increasing in all socio economic areas of the country, http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs11/13157/index.htm . SERAPH who provides school safety consulting to over 20,000 schools in the U.S. has observed a dramatic increase in gang recruitment in suburban schools.
Ron Holvey, Gang Interdiction Special Consultant http://seraph.net/about_ron_holvey.html for SERAPH explains the problem, “School officials have been caught off guard by the rise of gangs in suburban areas. Straight Edge, Juggalos, Crips and Bloods have all been recruiting juveniles in these areas of the country.”
1 year ago
in Nashuatelegraph.com: A little lesson for the parents on Nashua Telegraph
School Safety Planning without Assessment: Guessing is not planning
You go to the doctor because you feel sick. When the doctor enters the examination room the doctor tells you that he is giving you a prescription for to medicines. Confused you ask, “But you haven’t examined me yet to diagnose my problem?” The doctor replies, “Don’t worry I have a pretty good idea what is wrong with you so I’ll just wing it”.
How fast would you run out of there? This is how most school district design school safety plans. They use a little bit of internet information, a little bit of other districts information and a lot of guess work. This is not professional or effective planning.
Without a compete assessment an effective plan cannot be designed. Most districts have had safety assessments conducted by local people or companies. The problem is that these assessments are superficial and general ineffective for planning purposes or problems solving.
Most of the security assessments that have been performed in U.S. schools have focused either on security hardware [cameras, locks, etc.] or exterior crime prevention. Since school safety is primarily about the management of a school environment and the people in it, an accurate assessment of safety must include analysis of the management systems in place on a daily basis that affect daily security issues.
The following is a list of what a proper school security audit should include:
• Each audit / assessment must be custom designed to the school facility structure and personality. For example California style [one floor, flat or shallow roof] buildings present different security problems than a school facility that have multiple floors. Socio-economic aspects of the community and the surrounding area also set the personality of a school.
• A complete audit must also include interviews with key community people regarding juvenile crime and social problems related to children.
• The audit must seek out key personnel within each school for extensive interviews. These key personnel provide much of the relevant usable information for the audit.
• An audit of sub social groups must also be conducted.
• An audit of management structure related to security is also vital in a proper audit.
• An audit of the relationship and communication between staff and students must be properly conducted.
• Student movement and classroom management must be audited.
• An audit of disciplinary issues must be conducted.
• Finally, the audit must provide specific issues with specific solutions must be designed for each school facility.
You go to the doctor because you feel sick. When the doctor enters the examination room the doctor tells you that he is giving you a prescription for to medicines. Confused you ask, “But you haven’t examined me yet to diagnose my problem?” The doctor replies, “Don’t worry I have a pretty good idea what is wrong with you so I’ll just wing it”.
How fast would you run out of there? This is how most school district design school safety plans. They use a little bit of internet information, a little bit of other districts information and a lot of guess work. This is not professional or effective planning.
Without a compete assessment an effective plan cannot be designed. Most districts have had safety assessments conducted by local people or companies. The problem is that these assessments are superficial and general ineffective for planning purposes or problems solving.
Most of the security assessments that have been performed in U.S. schools have focused either on security hardware [cameras, locks, etc.] or exterior crime prevention. Since school safety is primarily about the management of a school environment and the people in it, an accurate assessment of safety must include analysis of the management systems in place on a daily basis that affect daily security issues.
The following is a list of what a proper school security audit should include:
• Each audit / assessment must be custom designed to the school facility structure and personality. For example California style [one floor, flat or shallow roof] buildings present different security problems than a school facility that have multiple floors. Socio-economic aspects of the community and the surrounding area also set the personality of a school.
• A complete audit must also include interviews with key community people regarding juvenile crime and social problems related to children.
• The audit must seek out key personnel within each school for extensive interviews. These key personnel provide much of the relevant usable information for the audit.
• An audit of sub social groups must also be conducted.
• An audit of management structure related to security is also vital in a proper audit.
• An audit of the relationship and communication between staff and students must be properly conducted.
• Student movement and classroom management must be audited.
• An audit of disciplinary issues must be conducted.
• Finally, the audit must provide specific issues with specific solutions must be designed for each school facility.
1 year ago
in Let’s Face It: Education is Key to Keep Kids Safe Online on The Technology Liberation Front
Truancy: The root of all school safety problems!
“No child falls through the cracks. They are dropped through or shoved through by lazy, emotionally immature adults and unethical professionals”
After the Columbine shootings I made this statement during an interview on national television. The reporter asked if I really believed that statement and I replied, “absolutely!”
But you may ask what this statement has to do with the issue of truancy? Simple, truant children – who are routinely late or absent – come from dysfunctional homes. Those homes in my experience are lead by caregivers who are more concerned about there own pleasures and convenience than the welfare of their children. Some may say that this is an unkind assessment. My response to them is simple, visit these homes and you will see that this is not an aberration.
While some caregivers have a difficult time because of poverty, work schedules or transitioning to a single parent household; the majority simply refuse to exercise self control or basic order in their homes.
And this assessment is supported by various national studies. Research from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the U.S. Department of Education have found that child neglect and family disorganization are major factors in truancy. The OJJDP also found that “Truancy has been clearly identified as one of the early warning signs of students headed for potential delinquent activity, social isolation, or educational failure via suspension, expulsion, or dropping out.”
More disturbing is a document that I have used for many years in criminal profiling, the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol (J-SOAP-II). In this well respected assessment tool, caregiver issues and truancy become connected as impetuses for teen sex offender development:
Inconstant and instable caregivers before the age of 10. Multiple changes in caregivers and living situations.
Chronic truancy, fighting with peers or teachers.
Dr Gerald Patterson sums up the issue this way, “Parenting plays a critical role in the development process of children. Early discipline failures are a primary casual factor in the development of conduct problems. Harsh discipline, low supervision, lack of parental involvement all add to the development of aggressive children”
Bullying, sexual harassment, negative behavior cliques and aggression towards staff are all done by children who come from dysfunctional homes. But beyond the home environment, schools have a big stake in controlling truancy. Not only is it a major part of NCLB compliance but it affects all school safety issues. The US DOE has tracked the following school issues that directly contribute to truancy.
· Lack of effective and consistently applied attendance policies.
· Poor record-keeping, making truancy difficult to spot.
· Teacher characteristics, such as lack of respect for students and neglect of diverse student needs.
· Unsafe environment, for example a school with ineffective discipline policies where bullying is tolerated. [5 percent of students in grades 9 through 12 skipped school because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school.]
Truancy happens in rural, suburban and urban schools and all classes of families. School must take control of their truancy problems or they are bound to be overtaken by it.
A well managed school is a safe school!
“No child falls through the cracks. They are dropped through or shoved through by lazy, emotionally immature adults and unethical professionals”
After the Columbine shootings I made this statement during an interview on national television. The reporter asked if I really believed that statement and I replied, “absolutely!”
But you may ask what this statement has to do with the issue of truancy? Simple, truant children – who are routinely late or absent – come from dysfunctional homes. Those homes in my experience are lead by caregivers who are more concerned about there own pleasures and convenience than the welfare of their children. Some may say that this is an unkind assessment. My response to them is simple, visit these homes and you will see that this is not an aberration.
While some caregivers have a difficult time because of poverty, work schedules or transitioning to a single parent household; the majority simply refuse to exercise self control or basic order in their homes.
And this assessment is supported by various national studies. Research from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the U.S. Department of Education have found that child neglect and family disorganization are major factors in truancy. The OJJDP also found that “Truancy has been clearly identified as one of the early warning signs of students headed for potential delinquent activity, social isolation, or educational failure via suspension, expulsion, or dropping out.”
More disturbing is a document that I have used for many years in criminal profiling, the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol (J-SOAP-II). In this well respected assessment tool, caregiver issues and truancy become connected as impetuses for teen sex offender development:
Inconstant and instable caregivers before the age of 10. Multiple changes in caregivers and living situations.
Chronic truancy, fighting with peers or teachers.
Dr Gerald Patterson sums up the issue this way, “Parenting plays a critical role in the development process of children. Early discipline failures are a primary casual factor in the development of conduct problems. Harsh discipline, low supervision, lack of parental involvement all add to the development of aggressive children”
Bullying, sexual harassment, negative behavior cliques and aggression towards staff are all done by children who come from dysfunctional homes. But beyond the home environment, schools have a big stake in controlling truancy. Not only is it a major part of NCLB compliance but it affects all school safety issues. The US DOE has tracked the following school issues that directly contribute to truancy.
· Lack of effective and consistently applied attendance policies.
· Poor record-keeping, making truancy difficult to spot.
· Teacher characteristics, such as lack of respect for students and neglect of diverse student needs.
· Unsafe environment, for example a school with ineffective discipline policies where bullying is tolerated. [5 percent of students in grades 9 through 12 skipped school because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school.]
Truancy happens in rural, suburban and urban schools and all classes of families. School must take control of their truancy problems or they are bound to be overtaken by it.
A well managed school is a safe school!
