School Safety: Guides & Reports

A Guide to Developing, Maintaining, and Succeeding With Your School Resource Officer Program 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), July 2005. 
Many SRO programs have experienced difficulty recruiting, screening, retaining, training, and supervising SROs. This new COPS report documents promising methods that selected SRO programs have used to address these potential problem areas of SRO program operations. The information in the report is intended to enable other SRO programs-and jurisdictions that are thinking of starting SRO programs-to benefit from the experiences of these selected programs by adopting or adapting some of their approaches to establishing and maintaining a successful program.

Blueprints for Violence Prevention
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), July 2001. 
Through the Blueprints for Violence Prevention Initiative, OJJDP provides information to communities on a broad array of violence prevention and intervention programs that have proven to be effective. This bulletin describes the demanding criteria established by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence to designate model Blueprints programs. It also outlines the activities of the 11 programs (out of the more than 500 that have been reviewed to date) found to meet those rigorous standards. The document provides contact information for each program, and discusses replication and funding resources.

Bomb Threats in Schools
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), February 2005. 
This guide addresses the problem of bomb threats in schools, public or private, kindergarten through 12th grade. The guide reviews the factors that increase the risk of bomb threats in schools and then identifies a series of questions that might assist departments in analyzing their local problem. Finally, the guide reviews responses to the problem and what is known about these from evaluative research and police practice.

Bullying in Schools
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), January 2004. 
There is always concern about school violence, and police have assumed greater responsibility for helping school officials ensure students safety. As pressure increases to place officers in schools, police agencies must decide how best to contribute to student safety. Bullying in Schools provides police with information about the causes and extent of bullying in schools and recommendations for developing effective approaches and practices that contribute to student safety.

COPS Gangs Toolkit 
The COPS Gangs Toolkit consists of resources for law enforcement officials, educators, and parents to address specific types of crimes committed by gangs. The following resources provide details of community policing solutions to youth crime and school violence. The COPS Office encourages law enforcement agencies to analyze their local gang problems and use these resources, as appropriate.

COPS Innovations: Assessing School Related Crime and Disorder
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), September 2001. 
This report is based on the activities of COPS School Based Partnership grantees. Tips and recommendations are provided for developing successful school based problem-solving efforts

COPS Innovations – Creative Partnerships: Supporting Youth, Building Communities
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), September 2002. 
This COPS Innovations piece highlights community policing approaches to developing partnerships with youth. Three youth-focused programs funded by the COPS Office serve as examples of partnerships that law enforcement, schools, and community organizations can form to address issues of juvenile crime and victimization.

COPS School Safety CD-ROM
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), March 2005. 
The School Safety CD-ROM contains more than 30 COPS Office and other U.S. Department of Justice agency links and documents related to youth violence, gangs, bullying, and drugs, and is a resource for local policy makers, school administrators, parents, and students.

Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools
Department of Education, August 1998. 
This guide offers research-based practices designed to help school communities identify early warning signs and develop prevention, intervention, and crisis response plans. The guide includes sections on characteristics of a school that is safe, early warning signs, getting help for troubled children, developing a prevention and response plan, responding to crisis, resources, and methodology.

Gang Reference Card for Parents English  Spanish  Hmong  Vietnamese 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), July 2005. 
This quick and easy reference guide provides common warning signs of gang involvement. Parents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with local gangs symbols, seek help early, and consider contacting school officials, local law enforcement, faith leaders, and community organizations for additional assistance.

Guide to Using School COP to Address Student Discipline Problems
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), September 2001. 
This Guide is designed to help school administrators, police officers assigned to a school, and non-sworn school security staff reduce student discipline and crime problems using a new software application called the School Crime Operations Package, or School COP. School COP is designed to enable you to record and store detailed information about incidents involving student misconduct and crime.

Kids, COPS, and Communities
National Institute of Justice (NIJ), June 1998. 
This NIJ Issues and Practices Report is designed to help law enforcement administrators and officers understand and institute a strategy to help prevent violence-specifically, community-oriented policing services carried out in collaboration with youth-serving organizations.

RetroGrade: How School Crime Sets You Back Training Video
Florida Regional Community Policing Institute (FLRCPI) and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). 
This 30-minute, MTV-style video is based on true cases. It alerts students not only to the criminal and legal aspects of the various crimes, but also to the moral and ethical issues involved. Instructors may pause the tape between each scenario and discuss with students the ethical decision-making conversation that began on the screen. Winner of local and national video awards, RetroGrade can be an important tool for any concerned SRO, teacher, counselor, or administrator. It is a product of the COPS-funded Florida Regional Community Policing Institute.

School Violence: An Overview – Creating Safe Schools and Conflict Resolution Education
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), June 2001. 
This document provides an overview of the current state of school violence, a guide to comprehensive safe school planning, and a way to prepare youths for a less violent future through conflict resolution skills.

School Vandalism & Break-ins
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), August 2005. 
This guide addresses school vandalism and break-ins, describing the problem and reviewing the risk factors. It also discusses the associated problems of school burglaries and arson. The guide then identifies a series of questions to help you analyze your local problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem, and what is known about them from evaluative research and police practice.

SRO Performance Evaluation: A Guide to Getting Results 
Circle Solutions, Inc and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), August 2005. 
The evaluation captures the lessons-learned from a COPS-funded, 2-year pilot project conducted by Circle Solutions, Inc. The result is a step-by-step guide to help law enforcement and school personnel use school resource officers (SRO) effectively. To better address school crime and disorder, it also provides guidance on how to match the SRO's actual performance to their evaluations.

Underage Drinking
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), September 2004. 
This guide addresses the problem of underage drinking. It begins by describing the problem and reviewing factors that increase the risks of it. The guide also identifies a series of questions that might assist you in analyzing your local problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem and what is known about these from evaluative research and police practice.

Violence After School: Juvenile Justice Bulletin
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), November 1999.
This OJJDP Bulletin is gives readers quick, focused access to some of the most critical findings from the wealth of data regarding school violence. The data reported in this Bulletin document the need for schools and communities to develop strategies for youth during the after-school hours.