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SCHOOL CRIME STOPPERS
By
Bob Chance
Major, Commander of the Uniform Division Southwest
Tulsa, Oklahoma, Police Department
Of all the crime prevention programs developed by citizen
action organizations and law enforcement agencies across the
country, few address the crimes that take place within schools.
Yet, nationwide statistics indicate that 24 percent of all
violent crimes involving teens, ages 12-19, occur in the
schools. (1) And, this age group registers the highest
incidence of crimes committed against them. (2)
The Tulsa, Oklahoma, Police Department became acutely aware
of this problem when it experienced a significant increase in
both calls for service and the need for directed patrol
assignments at the city's East Central High School.
Unfortunately, the crimes occurring at East Central were
representative of the problems encountered at the other 12 city
high schools, where students witnessed assaults, drug dealings,
vandalism, violent behavior against other students and teachers,
or larcenies almost on a daily basis.
Recognizing the need for directed action against such
crimes, several officers and police supervisors met with the
director of Tulsa's Citizens Crime Commission to look for ways
to reduce, and hopefully eliminate, these criminal activities.
After much discussion on the various options available, they
decided that a Crime Stoppers Program in the schools could
provide the answer. Their next step, however, was to sell the
program to school administrators and high school students.
SELLING THE PROGRAM
In November 1989, the police department invited principals
from schools within the targeted area and the Citizens Crime
Commission director to attend a meeting at a police substation.
The purpose was to discuss the feasibility of instituting crime
prevention programs within area high schools. At this meeting,
the police discovered that school administrators were just as
frustrated as they were by the crime problem. When the
possibility of a Crime Stoppers Program was mentioned, school
administrators from East Central High School received this idea
so enthusiastically that they agreed to participate in the pilot
program. The next step was to sell the idea to the student
body.
To do this, police officials and school administrators
spoke to journalism students at East Central High School who
published the school's newspaper. They hoped that through "the
power of the written word," they could get students to support
a crime prevention program in the school. Once officers
presented the concept of the program, the students agreed that
this could be the answer to decreasing crime within their school
and volunteered to work on such a project. After the East
Central Student Council and the staff at the Education Service
Center agreed to back the program, the journalism students set
out to develop and implement a program that would meet the needs
of their school.
DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM
School administrators, the Citizens Crime Commission, and
the Tulsa Police Department made themselves available to serve
as advisors. In addition, the Citizens Crime Commission
provided the funds needed to start up this pilot project. But,
it was the journalism class that put the project into motion.
To begin, the journalism students conducted a survey of the
student body to determine if other students believed crime to be
a major issue in the school and to what extent. A total of 608
students of the 1371 enrolled were surveyed. Responses showed
that 60 percent of those surveyed had been crime victims, 39
percent agreed that crime in the school was a major issue, and
49 percent stated they would report a crime committed by someone
they knew. With the survey results and other statistical data
on teenage crime, the journalism class began to put together the
framework for a Crime Stoppers Program. This would include an
avenue for reporting crimes, as well as providing information
leading to the arrest and prosecution of the offenders.
First, they devoted six pages in one edition of the school
newspaper to crime-related information and the Crime Stoppers
Program. This particular edition was given free of charge to
each member of the student body. In this edition, they
emphasized that crime prevention produces a better learning
environment and stressed the need for student involvement.
Then, the journalism students and their teacher came up
with the idea to design and produce a "credit card" for each
student. Not only would the credit card be used to gain support
from the rest of the student body for the program, but it would
give students access to basic crime prevention information, such
as the Crime Stoppers number and how to report crimes. This
information also included the fact that the students did not
have to reveal their identity and that rewards of up to $1,000
could be obtained in cases of arrest and prosecution of felons.
Fifteen hundred of these credit cards were to be distributed at
a school assembly. The Citizens Crime Commission paid for the
free newspapers distributed and for printing the credit cards.
WORKINGS OF THE PROGRAM
The program allows students to report crimes by placing the
information in the school's crime report box. To aid in
reporting a crime or to give information about a crime committed,
including any suspects, the students developed their own simple
report form. The form provides for student anonymity.
Informants wishing to remain anonymous can also call the
Metro Crime Stoppers number. These informants are issued an
in-house code number or Crime Stoppers ID number that guarantees
the confidentiality of the informant's identity.
The program also calls for an administrative liaison who is
responsible for administering the program at the school. This
individual collects reports from the school's crime report box
and also talks directly to students having any information on
crimes occurring within the school.
Informants who are not concerned if they are identified may
go directly to the administrative liaison and give the
information. If the information goes beyond school
jurisdiction, the administrative liaison advises the informant
to contact the Metro Crime Stoppers Program. Crime Stoppers
then turns over the information to the officer assigned to work
the case.
Once a crime is reported, the administrative liaison
presents the information obtained to the Student Crime Review
Board. This board meets once a week and is composed of
volunteer students, who may choose to remain anonymous. The
board's function is to advertise and to promote the program, to
raise funds, and to make decisions on rewards to be paid. The
board can recommend an appropriate reward for the informant if
the crime is solved. However, the final say on rewards rests
with the Metro Crime Stoppers Board, since all rewards come from
the Tulsa Metro Crime Stoppers Program.
Under no circumstances does any student board member
receive information or become involved with the investigation of
a case. They are not given any information on victims or
suspects.
Cases are assigned for investigation according to
jurisdiction. Felony crimes will be investigated by the Tulsa
Police Department. Misdemeanor crimes are either handled
administratively through the school or turned over to the police
for investigation, depending on the circumstances. The school
handles all administrative problems reported.
The school newspaper notifies students of crimes reported
and the reward offered for information on each crime. Such
notices are also placed on the Crime Stoppers bulletin board in
the main lobby, the daily school bulletin, or the electronic
bulletin board. Notices of each crime remain on the Crime
Stoppers bulletin board for the entire school year. If it is
solved, it is marked accordingly, but left posted.
STUDENTS IN ACTION
February 2, 1990, marked the official kickoff of the
school's Crime Stoppers Program at a special assembly. Each
student received a copy of the school newspaper and a Crime
Stoppers "master card." In addition, school administrators,
representatives from the Citizens Crime Commission, and officers
from the Tulsa Police Department spoke to the students about the
program and the importance of student involvement. And, the
Mayor of Tulsa issued a proclamation declaring that day to be
"East Central High School Crime Stoppers Day."
During the first month of operation, students reported five
crimes through the school's Crime Stoppers Program. Subsequent
information provided by East Central High School students
resulted in two of the crimes being solved.
CONCLUSION
The students of East Central High School are making an
investment in their school and their community by initiating a
Crime Stoppers Program. With the help of school administrators
and police officials, every student is working to alleviate the
crime problems they face and to reap the rewards of attending a
school where the learning environment has been improved through
crime prevention.
FOOTNOTES
(1) Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Teenage Victims: A
National Crime Survey Report," November 1986.
(2) "Teenagers: Crime's Most Frequent Target,"National
Crime Prevention Council Resource Center, Washington, DC, 1983.