New Hampshire: School resource officers cut crime

Juvenile Justice Digest, Jul 20, 2001

Programs that put police officers in schools have cut juvenile violence and drug abuse.

Justiceworks, a University of New Hampshire research organization, examined nine high schools by surveying students and teachers.

Students and teachers reported feeling safer on school grounds with the officers there. Teachers reported fewer drug sales and less marijuana smoking, gang activity or disruptive behavior among students.

The study found virtually none of the students who reported bringing weapons to school before the of ficers arrived carried weapons two years later.

Inf.: www.unh.edu. "Justiceworks."

New York

SCHOOL REPORTS MUST INCLUDE VIOLENCE

The Safe Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) law that took effect in July requires schools to report violent behavior in the annual Report Card on schools.

SAVE also gives teachers more authority to dispel disruptive students from class.

North Dakota

SCHOOLS GET GRANT TO COMBAT ALCOHOL

The Grand Forks School District won a $150,000 grant from the Knight Foundation to develop youth alcohol-prevention activities.

Inf: 305-908-2600.

Ohio

STATE SETS STANDARDS FOR CHILD ADVOCATES

Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer will appoint a task force to develop standards for caretakers of neglected children.

The state currently has no guidelines for court-appointed guardians that take custody of children with abusive parents.

Pennsylvania

GOVERNOR EXPANDS ANTI-VIOLENCE EFFORT

Gov. Tom Ridge signed House Bill 1048, a youth-violence prevention effort that goes into effect in September as part of the state's Community Partnership for Safe Children program.

Inf.: Kevin Shivers, Deputy Press Secretary of the Pennsylvania Office of the Governor, 717-783-1116.

Rhode Island

LAWMAKERS EASE REIN ON DOMESTIC ABUSERS

The legislature amended the domestic violence statute to allow an abuser to avoid penalty if he or she goes one year without a second incident. The previous period for good behavior was three years.

The records of a case will remain in the criminal justice files for three years, but charges will be quashed at the end of 12 months.

Police answered 7,294 domestic abuse complaints last year and made 5,509 arrests.

South Carolina

LEGISLATURE APPROVES $1M FOR FAMILY ABUSE

The legislature sent the governor a bill that provides a $1 million increase in funding for the state's 13 domestic violence facilities.

The measure calls for a new $20 fee on marriage licenses that would be used to increase financial support for shelters.

In testifying for the bill during the legislative session, shelter op-- erators said they deny aid each year to hundreds of women and children for lack of funds.

Texas

POLICE DISTRIBUTE FREE LOCKS FOR 25,000 GUMS

Police began distributing 25,000 gunlocks as,,part of a fiveyear, $5 million state-funded program.

Texas is participating with the Connecticut-based Project Child Safe, which plans to provide 750,000 cable locks nationwide this year. The nonprofit suspended operations last year because the locks failed.

Utah

RULE AFFECTS ECSTASY

The Utah County Commission set a I a.m. closing time for all dance events to discourage use of ecstasy.

Requirements for a license include crowd-control fences, a $10,000 deposit to cover clean-up costs, portable toilets, emergency medical technicians and a $1 million insurance policy.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SPURS HOMICIDE JUMP

Nine homicides linked to domestic violence have helped to push the state's murder rate ahead of last year's pace through the first half

Utah had six domestic homicides in all 12 months of 2000. Police report 26 homicides in

the first six months of 2001 compared with 24 for the same period a year ago. Utah recorded 42 homicides in 2000, the fewest in a decade.

Virginia

ANTI-BOMB LAW HITS DRIVING LICENSES

A new law that took effect July I withdraws driving privileges teens caught making bomb threats. The penalty would be loss of the license for one year or until the youth turns 17, whichever is longer.

West Virginia

SCHOOL SAFETY HOTLINE

Gov. Bob Wise plans to launch a 24-hour statewide school safety hotline in September. The hotline will be manned around the clock by the same staff that operates the statewide arson hot line.

Wisconsin

PROGRAM TAKES AIM AT YOUTH VIOLENCE

The Milwaukee Health Department and the Milwaukee Violence Prevention Coalition said in a joint statement that a program to reduce youth violence is showing promise.

"Safe Night" provides community organized and funded activities for young people,-who must sign a "contract" promising not to carry weapons, use drugs or alcohol or engage in fights.

FUNDING

DEADLINE SET FOR GANG RESISTANCE GRANTS

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has funds for state and local law enforcement agencies in the Gang Resistance Education and Training Program (G.R.E.A.T.).

The deadline is Sept. 7.

The program trains police officers to provide instruction to grade and middle school children in gang prevention and anti-violence techniques. Training may be provided to any law enforcement agency.

Grants will be awarded at five levels based on population size of the applicant.