Teens take on crime

NEA Today, Sep 1999

In a recent Harris poll, nine of 10 youths said they'd volunteer to work against violence-if only they knew what to do.

"Teens have a hunger to be needed," says John Calhoun, executive director of the National Crime Prevention Council in Washington, D.C. In 1986, Calhoun created "Teens, Crime, and the Community," a youth program that involves young people in crime prevention efforts.

"It took off quickly," he says, "because it addresses young people's desire to be needed and bonded with their community." The course first teaches students how to protect themselves from dangerous situations and stay out of trouble.

Students then explore salient crime issues in their school-date rape, hate crimes, locker room theft, sexual harassment, assaults, gang violence-and create solutions. These may include mediation and mentoring, forming graffiti patrols, serving on student courts, and learning the art of conflict resolution.

In schools with student courts, even first-time offenders find that their peers can be tough on them. Student vandals, for example, often have to clean up the mess they made, bringing home the lesson of how much damage they'd done.

The program also works to inculcate civic virtue and understanding. Calhoun reports on second graders in New York City who stopped the homeless from hassling them on their way to school. They gave them sandwiches wrapped with love notes, because one second grader was sure that part of the solution was giving the homeless love as well as food.

The program's curriculum, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, can be infused in a number of subject areas. The course comes with a textbook, teacher's guide, implementation manual, and a "Teen Action Packet."

Impact:

"Teens, Crime, and the Community" has become one of the nation's most widely used crime prevention curriculumssome 500,000 young people in 400 schools have participated. A 1997-98 study showed that students in the program were more altruistic and fairer than others. They also tended to value teamwork, respect rules, and believe that they can and should change their communities for the better. For More:

Contact the National Crime Prevention Council, 1700 K St., N.W, Second Floor, Washington, DC 20006-3817, 202/4666272 or visit the Web at www.nationaltcc.org.