It’s a tough age to teach complex issues, but it’s also an impressionable age group, and a critical time when children learn about interacting with others, getting along and sharing. That makes it a perfect time to set the foundation about how to treat others, and not bully, said Officer David Blackburn.
“It starts there and when it starts there, we keep our hands in it and work with them, and we go through the older grades and establish relationships with these kids,” he said. “Then it works a lot better when they get older.”
According to the National Center Against Bullying, one in three students will be bullied in school, but 64 percent of those kids won’t report it. While there are no specific statistics on bullying in Dayton, on a national level, bullying cases can decrease by 25 percent just by putting programs in place to talk to children about it. Cases drop by more than 50 percent when fellow students intervene to stop bullying, according to the data.
Arleen Long said that her 4-year-old grandson isn’t able to make complete sentences, and she sometimes worries that he will be bullied. Knowing officers and teachers are working with students brings her peace of mind.
“Nobody can help the way that they’re born, and I hate to see other kids pick on little kids and fight,” she said.
The west patrol division will be actively placing its three crime prevention officers in schools more this year to work with students on bullying and other issues. The hope is to foster positive relationships with police and each other, Blackburn said.
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