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"That's going to be haunting me for a long time... it hurts, because I could've maybe done something about it."
- A student commenting on not reporting threats before the shootings in Santana High School.
Communication is key
According to a US Secret Service study on shootings in schools, three fourths of the cases demonstrated that the assailant had told at least one other person in advance, and half had told more than one person.
The need to overcome the generational communication gap is key. The difference between the schools where shootings have taken place and where they have been prevented is that students - not administrators or faculty - reported the danger and the adults took action.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 92 percent of the cases where handguns were confiscated from students on school grounds during the 1996-97 school year, the guns were taken because students alerted school officials.
YCW lets students take charge
This code of silence exists in too many schools. It confines youth into choosing between the dangers of being a snitch or becoming a victim. A cornerstone of the 9 components of YCW's program is to create an environment where it is easy and safe to report dangerous or suspicious situations before they result in violence. (see safe, anonymous crime reporting)
Youth Crime Watch sites have documented instances of students reporting weapons brought to school by another student. Lives were saved in Mississippi, and potentially life-threatening situations have recently been prevented in Mississippi and Utah. The problem, as the Secret Service study points out, is that only 26 percent of guns in schools are confiscated.
Not every violent crime of this nature can be prevented, but if we can prevent even one of them by empowering youth to report what they know, then we have won a major victory.
Youth Crime Watch offers students an opportunity to make themselves and their schools safer. YCW students, with support and guidance from adult advisors, develop ways to create a safe environment. Strategies range from non-confrontational Youth Patrols to Conflict Resolution to Peer and Cross-Age Teaching to Mentoring.
YCWA offers training for youth-adult teams across the U.S. YCWA will also be presenting the 18th National Youth Crime Prevention Conference in Miami, Florida, March 26-29, 2007.
