School Safety Toolkit

The COPS Office has assembled the following resources for our School Safety Toolkit, which includes a series of documents and guides to help address issues often associated with school safety and youth violence.

Bomb Threats in Schools 
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 law enforcement 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 
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. This guide 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.

Disorderly Youth in Public Places 
Disorderly youth in public places constitute one of the most common problems facing many police agencies. This problem-oriented guide for police provides a general discussion of the problem of disorderly youth in public places and reviews the factors that contribute to it. The guide also identifies questions to ask when dealing with a disorderly youth problem, proposes numerous responses to the problem, and identifies ways to measure the effectiveness of responses to the problem.

Gang Reference Card for Parents (English) 
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. The Gang Reference Card for Parents is available in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Vietnamese.

Graffiti 
This problem-oriented guide for police addresses effective responses to the problem of graffiti - the wide range of markings, etchings, and paintings that deface public or private property. In recent decades, graffiti has become an extensive problem, spreading from the largest cities to other locales. This guide provides law enforcement a serious of questions to consider when analyzing their local graffiti problem and reviews responses to the problem based on evaluative research and police practice.

Guide to Developing, Maintaining, and Succeeding with Your School Resource Office Program 
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.

Rave Parties 
This problem-oriented guide for police addresses the problems associated with rave parties. Rave parties - or, more simply, raves - are dance parties that feature fast-paced, repetitive electronic music and accompanying light shows. Raves are the focus of a youth-oriented subculture that blends music, art, and social ideals (e.g., peace, love, unity, respect, tolerance, happiness). The rave culture also entails the use of a range of licit and illicit drugs. This guide is an essential tool for law enforcement in developing responses to their local rave party problem.

School Safety CD-ROM 
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. It is a resource for local policy makers, school administrators, parents, and students.

School Vandalism and Break-Ins 
The term school vandalism refers to willful or malicious damage to school grounds and buildings or furnishings and equipment. This guide describes the problem and reviews the risk factors of school vandalism and break-ins. It also reviews the associated problems of school burglaries and arson. The guide then identifies a series of questions to help law enforcement analyze their local problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem, and what is known about them from evaluative research and police practice.

Solutions to Address Gang Crime CD-ROM 
The CD-ROM includes resources related to law enforcement responses for addressing gang activity, gang activity in specific populations, criminal behavior of gangs, and statistics and research on gangs. This CD-ROM contains a video documenting the 2003 Herman Goldstein Award Winner and Finalists.

SRO Performance Evaluation CD-ROM  
This CD-ROM provides a step-by-step guide to help law enforcement and school personnel use School Resource Officer performance assessment to address school crimes and disorder problems and achieve results. Tools are provided to support the process, and Microsoft Word versions that can be modified and saved are included. To further enhance success, other school safety and partnerships guides and toolkits, problem-solving and analysis tips, links to free incident-tracking software, as well as problem-specific resources are included.

Traffic Congestion Around Schools
This problem-oriented guide for police addresses school-related traffic congestion, as defined as the overcrowding and blocking of streets on or near school property that is typically associated with car transportation of children to and from school. This guide is written for police, not because they are the biggest stakeholders in solving traffic congestion problems, but because they are often one of the first to be called when traffic congestion develops around schools.

Underage Drinking 
Underage drinkers experience a wide range of alcohol-related health, social, criminal justice, and academic problems. This guide identifies a series of questions that might assist law enforcement in analyzing their local problem. It also reviews responses to the problem and what is known about these from evaluative research and police practice.

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