Dennis E. Greenhouse, Director
of the Community Capacity
Development Office. |
The start of the current school year was marred with tragedies of school violence once again, affecting youth and communities in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Colorado. I, like many citizens nationwide, was deeply affected by these incidents. There is no single answer as to why this brutality continues to occur. However, there is a consensus that comprehensive school, law enforcement, and community strategies help to intervene and reduce risk factors for school violence.
The U.S. Department of Justice, the Office of Justice Programs, and CCDO are responding to this continuing issue through a variety of ongoing resources and strategies, including Project Safe Neighborhoods, School Resource Officers, School Safety Planning, Environmental Design, and other initiatives.
Assisting our communities to prevent crime and increase community safety is at the heart of the Weed and Seed strategy. And at the heart of every Weed and Seed site is its Safe Haven. Each Weed and Seed Safe Haven serves as the nucleus of a Weed and Seed community, offering citizens and youth an array of preventive services and programs that build, strengthen, and sustain public safety and self-sufficiency.
Community interventions—including public safety programs, antigang initiatives, mentoring, after-school enrichment activities, community policing strategies, and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design—all contribute to a unified and integrated approach to protecting our children.
I would encourage Weed and Seed sites to review the status of local school safety plans and joint law enforcement/school agreements and protocols for critical incidents. Identify the role of Safe Havens in the broader school safety strategy. How can Weed and Seed strategies support and integrate with school safety plans? Is it time for a drill on your school safety plans? What more needs to be done?
Schools are statistically safer than any other environment for children, and school violence is down dramatically from a decade ago. But there is always more that can be done. I ask everyone to work together to make this a safe year for kids and for all of us.
Sincerely,
Dennis E. Greenhouse
Director
Community Capacity Development Office
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