SCHOOL POLICE ENLIST AID OF STUDENTS IN NEW CRIME WATCH

A new crime prevention program begins this fall in all DeKalb County middle
and high schools.

Funded by a $722,126 federal grant, the Youth Crime Watch is part of a
national program to reduce violence, crime and drug abuse in schools. It
trains local police officers to teach students important skills such as
conflict resolution and peer mediation, and encourages students to get
involved in making schools safer.

"It's really a prevention program," said Marie Wood-Shuffett, the school
system's director of public safety. "Hopefully we'll get the word out and
(students) will make wiser choices."

The money was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the
Improvement of Education.

As part of the program, students will learn about the harmful effects of
using drugs and smoking cigarettes. Also, interested students can volunteer
to be crime watchers during their lunch or study hall hours.

That proved to be a success last year during a pilot program at Stephenson
High School. School officials and police officers say the program helped
reduce violence and school vandalism and increase school spirit.

"The more eyes and ears you have, the less problems you have," said DeKalb
County Police Officer G.A. Wray, who oversaw the program of more than 60
students at Stephenson. "It teaches kids a lot --- it's really about kids
being assertive and having respon- sibility."

Students carrying walkie-talkies were assigned to a specific location or
hallway between classes, where they kept an eye out for suspicious
activity. One student participating in the program reported a fellow
student was selling drugs in school and police found 13 bags of marijuana
in his locker.

To participate in this aspect of the program, students must maintain a 2.5
grade-point average and be in good standing. School officials said they had
no difficulty finding interested students.

"You're going to see a big difference in a lot of schools," Wray said,
"problem-wise and grafitti-wise."

The federal grant money will also be used to add three more dogs and dog
handlers to the school system. DeKalb currently has two dogs --- Scoop and
Bodi --- who are released in school hallways twice a year to sniff out
drugs and weapons from student lockers. Last year, the dogs sniffed out
drugs or weapons in six lockers.