Crime Prevention Expert Says Campus Tip Incentive Programs Work
by Jim Brown
May 5, 2005
(AgapePress) - A lot of schools around the U.S. have made it easier for students to be rewarded for what they know about each other's suspicious activities.Recently, school shootings and other tragedies have led many educational facilities to offer programs that pay cash and other perks to students for reporting on their schoolmates. One school in Georgia offers up to $100 for reporting of crimes such as vandalism or theft; and information about a crime involving a gun -- or plans to commit such a crime -- can get a student up to $500.
Steve Walrath, president of Crime Stoppers International, believes the vast majority of students want what his organization and their school administrators want for them -- a safe and secure environment. "We just want to get the information," he says. "That's what we care about -- getting the information on some sort of imminent danger. And then, as Crime Stoppers, we channel that information to the law enforcement officials, who work with school officials to determine that that information is valid and does warrant further investigation."
More than 2,000 schools and colleges currently have programs with an anonymous, secure way to pass on information about a crime or potential crime, Walrath notes. He contends that these programs are effective, despite criticisms from those who say Crime Stoppers and its ilk are "snitch programs" that can potentially create a climate of distrust in a school.
But the Crime Stoppers spokesman takes issue with critics who characterize the offer of incentives for reporting as "snitch programs." He asserts, "By putting that label on, they're putting a label on a system that we use every single day with our kids, called rewards. There are National Honor Society kids who might retain a reward because they did a great job on their grades. That could equal trips to the Capitol, it could include dinner certificates or movie certificates, and -- depending on the school -- they have different rewards."
Walrath says those who feel offering a reward for doing the right thing is somehow wrong should stop paying their kids an allowance for doing chores around the house and refrain from applying for scholarships for their kids based on their good grades and community service. He insists that rewards are merely a "carrot" that helps to nudge people toward doing what they should do anyway. And as for creating a feeling of distrust on school campuses, the crime prevention advocate disagrees that reporting incentives have that effect.
To the contrary, Walrath feels crime tip incentive programs foster an atmosphere of personal responsibility by urging people to take action and help solve a crime or prevent one, thereby making the campus safer. For that reason, he says programs like Crime Stoppers are not only good for schools, but they are the right thing to do.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
