In addition, gang activity and association is a big problem in many schools today, and many school systems are turning to local law enforcement agencies to help them combat school violence on a number of levels. One of the activities that is being utilized across the country is the COPS is Schools (CIS) program, which helps local agencies hire school resource officers (SROs) to work inside the schools and develop community oriented programs that reach out to students, educators, and parents to identify and address violence issues in their particular schools. This can help the law enforcement agencies to identify the biggest problem schools in their area and address these schools with distinct problem oriented policing techniques geared to control the specific issues at a specific school, whether it is gang activity, truancy, or vandalism.

These SROs can also develop student programs that help students understand how they can help control violence in their schools, giving them the tools to assess the dangers around them, and conflict resolution skills to help them in situations that could turn violent. Engaging the students helps empower them and make them feel more in charge of their own fate and the fate of those around them.

Another method of control that helps develop a problem oriented approach is to analyze data that might not seem to contribute to violence in the schools, but may have an affect on it, such as attendance, parental and counselor, GPA, dropout rates, test scores, suspensions, truancy, calls for help to that school, and other non-traditional data that could show trends or indicators that certain schools may pose more problems than others. This data may not be traditionally utilized, but if analyzed effectively, it could lead to a greater understanding of what elements of the school experience can help lead to violence in that particular school. For example, if the school's population is predominately minority or immigrant,...

While these activities are much harder to predict, there may be many indicators that are being overlooked in this area as well, and so, law enforcement agencies must educate parents, educators, and those who deal with students, from bus drivers to counselors and even school security guards, to be on the lookout for any unusual or potentially dangerous activities. If the same indicators can be identified for this type of violence, then there may someday be a way to target schools that might pose a higher threat for other type of safety issues, such as gun violence and child abduction, and this will ultimately lead to safer schools and safer students.
In conclusion, problem oriented policing may not work in every case and in every community, but for specific crimes and criminal activity, it is often the best way to combat and control some of the most difficult areas of crime in a community. Problem oriented policing has worked in many situations, and the COPS Web site is a useful and valuable tool to help assess the different types of activities in a community and discover new POP techniques to control these activities in the future.

References

Editors. "Gangs." Center for Problem Oriented Policing. 2007. 8 Nov. 2007. http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=1593

Editors. "School Safety." Center for Problem Oriented Policing. 2007. 8 Nov. 2007. http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=106