U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Badge and the Book: Building Effective Police/School Partnerships to Combat Youth Violence

NCJ Number
165096
Author(s)
F Matthews
Date Published
1995
Length
58 pages
Annotation
Based upon the findings of surveys mailed to 490 police departments/detachments across Canada, this report discusses the problem of violence in Canadian schools, current police/school partnerships, techniques for building better police/school partnerships, and police policy and administrative practices in working with schools.
Abstract
A total of 177 completed surveys were returned. The survey was designed so as to obtain information that can help identify an optimal role for police in schools and can assist in the development of a national perspective on the issues that can guide police policy and administrative practices regarding school-based programs. With respect to the problem of violence in schools, the study concludes that school-based violence reflects the violence in wider Canadian society. Further, there is an increasing problem of female violence and violence in school sports. Regarding the school response to violence, perpetrators are not being held accountable for their behavior, and adults often do not take student victim complaints seriously. Consequently, there is an underreporting of violence incidents. The survey also shows that students are supportive of a police role in Canadian Schools. Students also want more parental involvement in their lives. An assessment of current police/school partnerships indicates a need for the presence and visibility of police in schools. Other issues in current police/school partnerships discussed are the conflicting needs of police and educators, the importance of building and maintaining rapport with students, the gender of the police officer, whether police should wear uniforms, and the qualities/skills that make an effective school liaison officer. Suggestions offered for building better police/school partnerships pertain to resources, outreach to native and minority communities, programs in rural/remote areas, police internal communications, and program development. The concluding section of this report offers recommendations for improving police policy and administrative practices for school-based programs. This includes suggestions for the roles of Federal and Provincial/municipal governments. A companion booklet is a directory of police/school programs (See NCJ-165097) designed to reduce youth violence. 6 references and appended focus group participants and questions, as well as a copy of the survey