Get documents about "OVC Bulletin Community Outreach Through Police in Schools
Document Sample
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Office for Victims of Crime
AU G U S T 2 0 0 3
Community Outreach
Message From
through Police in Schools the Director
negative behavior patterns develop and Community violence is widely recog-
he Community Outreach through are first identified. The program has been nized as a major public health problem.
T Police in Schools Program is a short-
term, prevention-oriented, school-
based group intervention that brings
successful because of its unique design
that calls on police and mental health
experts to work together to meet the
needs of children in their community.
It affects all levels of society, and there
are no simple remedies. Children ex-
posed to violence on a regular basis are
potentially more vulnerable to a num-
together community police officers and ber of detrimental outcomes, including
child clinicians as group coleaders to pro- Children get to know their community poor school performance, psychological
vide weekly sessions for middle school police officers better, develop an under- disturbances, and later violent and crim-
students who are at risk of being exposed standing of the impact of violence and inal behaviors.
to violence in the community. The trauma, and learn adaptive means of
Out of concern over the escalating vio-
Community Outreach through Police dealing with the consequences of expo-
lent crime in the greater New Haven,
in Schools Program comprises eight 50- sure to violence and trauma. Connecticut, area and its impact on
minute weekly sessions as well as pretest children, the Yale University Child
and posttest survey sessions. The total Study Center developed the Child
length of the intervention is 10 weeks. Background Development-Community Policing
(CD–CP) Program.The subject of this
bulletin, Community Outreach through
any urban areas have been affect-
M
Most experts agree that any successful
Police in Schools, is an intervention
violence intervention program must be ed by increased levels of commu-
implemented by this program.
collaborative. Such programs should also nity and domestic violence. The
target youth early, before frequent expo- Yale University Child Study Center’s The CD–CP Program relies on collabo-
sure to violence leads them to adopt Child Development-Community Policing ration among school personnel, mental
health providers, and police to mitigate
negative and dysfunctional patterns of (CD–CP) Program developed out of con-
children’s exposure to violence in the
behavior. The Community Outreach cern about escalating violent crime in the community.This bulletin will be of inter-
through Police in Schools Program is a greater New Haven, Connecticut, area est not only to school administrators,
collaborative intervention that targets and across the country and the impact of teachers, and school-based mental
youth before exposure to violence in their exposure to violence and trauma on chil- health professionals, but also to police
community seriously impacts their func- dren’s development. The CD–CP Program departments, particularly those practic-
tioning. The intervention’s collaborative is a collaboration between the Yale Uni- ing community policing.
approach commits school, police, and versity Child Study Center and the New John W. Gillis
mental health resources within the com- Haven Department of Police Services that Director
munity to provide services for children aims, in part, to address the mental health
in middle school, a time when many needs of children exposed to violence
OVC Bulletin
within the community. The CD–CP better understand the way their feelings cers participate in weekly supervision
Program is based on the premise that al- affect their behavior, develop constructive meetings with a clinician who oversees the
though exposure to violence and trauma means of responding to violence and trau- clinical aspects of the program.
may compromise children’s developmental ma, and change their attitudes toward
potential, it may also provide a window of police and how to seek help in their
opportunity for introducing a variety of community. Participants
interventions that can help mitigate the
impact of such trauma. The Community During the weekly program sessions, he Community Outreach through
Outreach through Police in Schools Pro-
gram is an example of an intervention
implemented by the CD–CP collaboration
schoolchildren establish real relationships
with police officers. These interactions
lead to changes in attitudes toward police
and their role in the community. Chil-
T Police in Schools Program is being
implemented in middle schools
within communities in which children
that targets children who have been are especially vulnerable to being
directly or indirectly exposed to violence dren’s feelings of safety and protection are exposed to violence and trauma. Targeted
and trauma within their community. enhanced as they become able to identify schools are in areas identified as having
and internalize the positive, prosocial high rates of crime and community vio-
attributes that the officers embody. lence. The curriculum is designed to meet
Police-Mental Health the developmental needs of middle school
Partnership Police Officer
students, and any middle school student
living in a targeted area is eligible to par-
he police-mental health partnership Participation and ticipate in the group. (The curriculum
T melds law enforcement officers’ ex-
pertise in community policing with
clinic-based mental health professionals’
Selection
articipating police officers are select-
may not be appropriate for younger stu-
dents.) Each identified school selects stu-
dents from fifth or sixth grade classes,
knowledge of the psychological and emo-
tional consequences that follow exposure
to violence. Police, school, and communi-
ty mental health professionals gain aware-
P ed by a police department supervisor
based on each officer’s availability
and expressed interest in the Community
who are then randomly assigned to
groups. Ideally, all students in an identi-
fied grade rotate through the program. In
some cases, when resources do not allow
Outreach through Police in Schools Pro-
ness of children’s perceived sources of for participation by all students in a grade,
gram. The officers are usually community
danger and a deeper understanding of the the school principal or other school offi-
officers who are local to the participating
issues facing children in the community. cials select the group participants. To
schools and who demonstrate an interest
With this knowledge, community leaders participate, students must have the per-
in working with children and families in
can implement changes in the communi- mission of their parents and possess the
the community. As group coleaders, they
ty that address both children’s individual basic skills and ability to participate in a
bring knowledge and expertise in the areas
concerns and the danger they face in group process. Students with severe be-
of law enforcement and safety to the ses-
their neighborhood. havioral or emotional problems may not
sions and can act as liaisons to the chil-
be suited to participate in the group.
dren’s neighborhood and community.
An integral part of the Community Out- Community police officers who participate
reach through Police in Schools Program Because this is a school-based program
have also completed the officer training that occurs during the schoolday, the
is this police-mental health partnership. component of the Child Development-
Police officers who work in the children’s program needs to be coordinated with
Community Policing Program and are school administration and faculty.
community are familiar with the condi- familiar with basic concepts of child devel-
tions children face on a daily basis. By Arrangements must be made for students
opment, violence, and trauma. Before they to review any missed class material with
pairing a trained mental health profes- join the sessions, police officers are also
sional with a community police officer school staff. Typically, the group is held
instructed by clinical staff on the rudi- during elective time or during class time
to act as group coleaders, the program ments of group process and theory as well
provides a unique approach to violence for subject material that is relevant to the
as the specific intervention intended by group content. In New Haven, groups are
prevention. Through this collaborative the Community Outreach through Police
intervention it is hoped that children will held as part of the schools’ social develop-
in Schools Program. In addition, the offi- ment curriculum and approved by the
2
COMMUNITY OUTREACH THROUGH POLICE IN SCHOOLS
school board at the beginning of the aca- lowing completion of the school-based stabbed themselves. Nearly half (47 per-
demic year. group program. cent) have seen a seriously wounded
person after a fight, and one-third (31
Pretest and posttest data are collected percent) have seen a shooting or attempt-
Process from all students participating via an ed shooting.
adapted form of SAHA and the Attitudes
articipation in the Community Out- Toward Police Scale. This pretest/posttest Test findings and anecdotal data support
P reach through Police in Schools
Program is voluntary, and alterna-
tive programming is offered to any student
design reveals any changes that may occur
in children’s functioning and attitudes
toward police following completion of the
program. To avoid contamination of the
the impression that youth in these neigh-
borhoods are highly concerned about vio-
lence in their community. In general,
more than half of these children reported
who does not wish to participate or whose
parents do not provide consent. Through- results, pretests and posttests are adminis- fears and worries related to violence expo-
out the school year, each group meets tered by a research assistant who is not sure. For example, 69 percent reported
weekly for 10 consecutive weeks: eight one of the group coleaders. that they are afraid they might do some-
group sessions plus pretest and posttest ses- thing bad, 67 percent reported worrying
sions. The sessions follow a structured cur- that something bad will happen to them,
riculum that includes drawing, sharing Preliminary and 81 percent reported that they are
bothered by thoughts of death.
ideas, observation, learning, role playing, Evaluation Results
and group activities. Participants receive
Past survey results indicate that the great-
ongoing feedback and the final meeting ngoing evaluation of the school-
includes a celebration and awarding of
certificates for completion of the program.
After the sessions end, general feedback is
provided to school personnel and parents.
O based intervention project has
been conducted since the pro-
gram’s inception in 1998. Through the
est change following participation in the
Community Outreach through Police in
Schools Program can be found in students’
emotional and psychological functioning.
pretest, the evaluation aims to document
After completing the group sessions, stu-
Students who are identified as needing baseline levels of violence exposure,
dents reported being less nervous, less wor-
additional or ongoing services are referred symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder
ried about what is going to happen to
to resources in the community. (PTSD), symptoms of other types of anxi-
them, less bothered by thoughts of death,
ety and depression, and attitudes toward
and less worried at bedtime, and they also
community police officers.
reported that their feelings are hurt less
Program Evaluation easily. In general, the majority of students
Preliminary results show both a serious
demonstrated positive changes in their
espite the growing popularity of vio- need for intervention in this population
D lence prevention programs, there is
a paucity of empirical evidence of
their effectiveness. Conducting school-
and (when evaluated in combination
with posttest results) some promising
outcomes of the intervention. Levels of
overall emotional responses over time.
Therefore, the program seems most suc-
cessful in helping children discuss their
feelings and improve their overall level of
based research can be difficult due to violence exposure and PTSD symptoma-
emotional functioning. Although past sur-
numerous challenges, including negotiat- tology were high in the pretests and sup-
vey results indicated positive changes in
ing complex systems and controlling for ported the assumption that children
attitudes toward police officers, current
confounding variables. The program has participating in the groups were exposed
findings are more mixed. However, posi-
attempted to address the challenges of eval- to high levels of community violence. For
tive changes are still evident when com-
uation by building on assessments widely example, results indicate that 29 percent
paring results from pretest to posttest.
used in local public school systems, such as of all New Haven students participating
For example, survey results indicate that,
the Social and Health Assessment Survey in the groups have been threatened with
postparticipation, significantly fewer stu-
(SAHA). The SAHA protocol has been serious harm, and 49 percent have seen
dents believed negative statements about
adapted to this research to examine expo- someone else threatened with serious
police officers such as “police beat up on
sure to trauma, student adjustment, mal- harm. Sixty-five percent have seen some-
people for no reason” or “police try to act
adaptive behaviors, and attitudes toward one beaten or mugged, 31 percent have
like big shots.” Thus, the Community
safety and violence both prior to and fol- seen someone being attacked or stabbed,
Outreach through Police in Schools inter-
and 11 percent have been attacked or
3
OVC Bulletin
vention appears to not only improve chil- other elements of the CD–CP Program at For copies of this bulletin and other OVC
dren’s ability to express and cope with the the Yale University Child Study Center publications or information on additional
emotional consequences of exposure to may also be obtained through the Office victim-related resources, please contact
violence, but also to improve their rela- for Victims of Crime or the Office of
tionships with community police officers. Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven- OVC Resource Center
tion at the U.S. Department of Justice. P.O. Box 6000
Rockville, MD 20849–6000
Training and 1–800–851–3420 or 301–519–5500
Technical Assistance For More Information (TTY 1–877–712–9279)
E-mail: askovc@ojp.usdoj.gov
or more information on the Com-
T
he Community Outreach through
Police in Schools Program can be
replicated in communities across the
F munity Outreach through Police in
Schools Program, please contact
Web site: www.ncjrs.org
Or order OVC publications online at
http://puborder.ncjrs.org.
country. Ideally, this program would be CD–CP Program
replicated as part of a broader communi- Child Study Center For information on training and techni-
tywide Child Development-Community Yale University School of Medicine cal assistance available from OVC,
Policing Program initiative. This program P.O. Box 207900 please contact
may not be ideally suited to all communi- New Haven, CT 06520–7900
ties. However, the basic principles of the 1–877–496–2238 OVC Training and
program can be adapted to the needs and Web site: www.nccev.org Technical Assistance Center
resources of a community. Interested com- 10530 Rosehaven Street, Suite 400
munities may contact the CD–CP Pro- Office for Victims of Crime Fairfax, VA 22030
gram that is part of the National Center U.S. Department of Justice 1–866–OVC–TTAC (1–866–682–8822)
for Children Exposed to Violence 810 Seventh Street NW., Eighth Floor (TTY 1–866–682–8880)
(www.nccev.org), based at the Yale Uni- Washington, DC 20531 Fax: 703–279–4673
versity Child Study Center, for more 202–307–5983 E-mail: TTAC@ovcttac.org
information or to request assistance with Fax: 202–514–6383 Web site: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/assist/
replication. Information about available Web site: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc welcome.html
training and technical assistance and
This document was prepared by Yale University Child Study Center, National Center for Children
Exposed to Violence, under grant number 1997–MU–MU–K021, awarded by the Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.The
opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this document are those of the
author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of
Justice.
The Office for Victims of Crime is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also
includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of
Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
NCJ 197038
Related docs
