Survey: 10 Years After Columbine, Parents Not Engaged In School Safety

  • Apr 20, 2009

On 10th anniversary of the Columbine school shootings, the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) says parents are not engaged in school safety and prevention efforts at their children's school.

The findings come from a newly released survey by NCPC, the nonprofit group best known for its icon McGruff the Crime Dog. NCPC's report shows that one in three parents have not had any discussions with school officials about school safety issues such as bullying or weapons in school. Of those parents who have spoken with school officials about safety issues, they do so an average of one time per year.

"It is disconcerting to find parents are more likely to talk to school officials about social issues such as 'getting along with others' than they are to talk about school safety," said NCPC President and CEO Alfonso E. Lenhardt.

Lenhardt continued by saying parents must be actively involved if we are to keep our children safe. Most violent incidents in schools today are often preceded by warning signs of trouble ahead. NCPC believes if we can get parents, school officials, and students working in concert, we can thwart some of these tragedies.

While these findings are disturbing, NCPC says the picture is not all doom and gloom. Parents of middle school students reported being aware of a range of prevention methods used in their children's school.

  • Nearly nine in10 (87 percent) of parents say their school requires visitors to check in or sign in at a designated location.
  • More than half of parents say their child's school requires parental involvement in school safety activities (59 percent).
  • Fifty percent report that their child's school has a school safety officer such as a security guard or police officer (50 percent).

The complete seuvey can be found at http://www.ncpc.org

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