Examines ways of adequately providing the security of middle schools while creating an environment in which students and staff feel at home. Areas covered include architectural strategies to encourage better communication, controlling vandalism, and preventing unauthorized people from entering the building. (GR)

Examines the questions schools should address when re-evaluating how to protect people, property, and assets. Questions addressed include where and how to begin to improve security in a school, getting the most protection economically, establishing where electronic security should be used, using surveillance cameras and systems, and what the role…

Addresses the issue of child sexual abuse, providing contextual information about the problem, such as the fact that in 85-95% of cases, the offender is known to and trusted by the victim. Discusses positive and negative influences of general children's literature noting that children are greatly influenced by situations depicted in books. Focuses…

Crime Stoppers of Houston is one of 800 similar citizen-driven hot-line programs operating in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Such programs increase community safety by offering cash rewards, a guarantee of secrecy, and speedy police response to callers. An adaptation for school-age youth is described. (MLH)

The purpose of this investigation was to develop a culturally relevant rape myth acceptance scale for Koreans. Three studies on the Korean Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (KRMAS) with approximately 1,000 observations provide initial validity and reliability. Specifically, results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support four subscales:…

This paper proposes a new bipartisan initiative to strengthen the effectiveness of U.S. social programs by focusing funds within each program on research-proven projects, practices, and strategies ("interventions"). The proposal seeks neither an increase nor decrease in overall program funding; rather, its central aim is to maximize the…

Crimes committed by juveniles are among the most urgent social problems. Juvenile crime is as prevalent as crime itself is, and it has not been solved completely in any society and cannot be solved through law enforcement measures alone. In this article, the authors discuss the dynamics and structure of juvenile crime in Russia and present data…

This article reviews approaches for developing comprehensive strategies that stop violence before initial perpetration occurs. Using feminist theory and public health perspectives as its foundation, the use of educational sessions, community mobilization, social norms, social marketing, and policy work are all explored. (Contains 1 table.)

Fraternity men (N = 261) at a small to midsized public university saw one of two versions of a rape prevention program or were in a control group. Program participants reported significant increases in empathy toward rape survivors and significant declines in rape myth acceptance, likelihood of raping, and likelihood of committing sexual assault.…

Restraining orders, an important legal intervention for victims of domestic violence, have broad potential for injury prevention. Using data from one of the busiest restraining order clinics in the nation, the authors examined 1,354 applicants' descriptions of abuse. Most (89.2%) applicants were issued a restraining order. A total of 16.0% of…

As a school bus comes to a halt on a busy street, the driver swings out the vehicle's stop arm and turns on flashing red lights. Most drivers know what those signals mean--they are required by law to stop their vehicles so that children can safely cross the thoroughfare. However, many drivers simply choose to ignore the law. Thousands of…

Many Americans, terrified of violent crime, attempt to protect themselves by owning guns. However, statistics provided in this brief fact sheet reveal that people who choose to have a gun easily available are in fact putting their families and friends into greater danger since far more homicides occur during domestic arguments than during…

A study of school principals in the Mississippi delta area of Arkansas explored principals' perceptions of violence in school, and their feelings towards the necessity of violence-prevention programs. Questionnaires were mailed to 292 principals of elementary, middle, and high schools, and 239 responded (81.8 percent). Of the responses, there were…

This document, a resource tool on child sexual abuse for parents, was prepared by the state of Oregon. An introductory section defines child sexual abuse and discusses methods of prevention of such abuse. The prevention practices described include the following: (1) teaching children that they have the right to control who touches their bodies;…

The purpose of this guide is to identify the various opportunities available in most communities for delivering crime prevention services to youth so that they will be better prepared to reduce their vulnerability to crime, while enhancing their involvement in prevention efforts. It also serves to outline the benefits of programming with youth;…