Civil Justice for Victims of Crimes (booklet)

Law enforcement officers, like other adults, should be concerned about the effects of bullying on children. Pupils have the right to be educated in an atmosphere which is free from fear. Adults have a duty to do all that they reasonably can to protect pupils in their charge from intimidation, assault or harassment. It should also be remembered that schools are subject to the law. Assault, harassment and intimidation are offences, whatever the age of the perpetrator or victim.

Research indicates that:

• 10 percent of students who drop out of school do so because of repeated bullying (Weinhold & Weinhold, 1998).
• Research shows that bullying can be a sign of other serious antisocial or violent behavior. Children and youth who frequently bully their peers are more likely than others to get into frequent fights, be injured in a fight, vandalize or steal property, drink alcohol, smoke, be truant from school, drop out of school, and carry a weapon (Nansel et al., 2003; Olweus, 1993).
• Bullying also has an impact on other students at school who are bystanders to bullying (Banks, 1997). Bullying creates a climate of fear and disrespect in schools and has a negative impact on students' learning (NEA, 2003).
• The consequences of bullying are far reaching, ranging from lower attendance and student achievement to increased incidence of violence and juvenile crime. Children who bully are more likely to become violent adults, while victims of bullying often suffer from anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression well into adulthood (Banks, 2000; NRCSS, 1999).
• Children and youth who bully are more likely to have friends who bully and who have positive attitudes toward violence.
• 60 percent of students characterized as bullies in grades 6-9 had at least one criminal conviction by age 24 (Banks, 2000).
• Bullies identified by age eight are six times more likely to be convicted of a crime by age 24 and five times more likely than non-bullies to end up with serious criminal records by the age of 30" (Maine Project Against Bullying, 2000).
• Children who bully are likely to report that they own guns for risky reasons, such as to gain respect or frighten others (Cunningham et al., 2000).
• Roughly two-thirds of school shooters had "felt persecuted, bullied, threatened, attacked, or injured by others. …a number of the teenagers had suffered sustained, severe bullying and harassment" (Bowman, 2001).

Consider these factors

Not all fights are the result of bullying situations, but when they are, do not routinely arrest both parties just because it appears that they were both fighting. The child who is being bullied is most likely not a willing participant. Boys who are bullied are typically smaller and weaker than their peers and may fear being hurt. Children who bully usually have two or three supporters. Children who bully and their supporters may lie about their behavior and shift the blame to the child who was bullied (Olwus, 1993).

Understand the effect of the Individual Education Plan (IEP)

Students with an IEP who bully may not be subjected to conventional school rules and discipline. An IEP is a legal document and specifies what consequences can be administered for misbehavior. However, a student IEP does not restict the action of law enforcement officers. If a law is violated and state law permits arrest, that student can be arrested.

Discourage mediation of bullying incidents

• Bullying is a form of victimization, not conflict. It is no more a 'conflict' than are child abuse or domestic voilence.
• Mediating a bullying incident may send inappropriate messages to the students who are involved (such as, "You are both partly right and partly wrong." or "We need to work out this conflict between you.") The appropriate message to the child who is bullied should be, "No one deserves to be bullied and we are going to do everything we can to stop it." The message for children who bully should be, "Your behavior is inappropriate and must be stopped."
• Mediation may further victimize a child who has been bullied. It may be very upsetting for a child who has been bullied to face his or her tormentor in mediation.
• There is no evidence to indicate that conflict resolution or peer mediation is effective in stopping bullying.

Working together

Changing bullying hehavior in the schools requires a coordinated approach. Schools, parents and the police are developing new ways of working together pro-actively to prevent bullying.  Law enforcement officers can help stop the spread of fear and violence in our schools by assisting in the implementation of a comprehensive bullying prevention program.

Get to know students and children by name and work to develop trusting releationships with them. Encourage them to come to you with concerns about bullying or other issues.

When speaking to the parent of the child who bullied, make it clear that (1) you have conducted an investigation that included getting their child's account of the incident, and (2) witnesses and physical evidence clearly indicate that their child was bullying. Stress that their child violated a school rule, policy or a law.

The Bullying Awareness & Prevention Alliance (BAPA) welcomes the opportunity to work with law enforcement to help make our schools and communities safer for our children, and provide an opportunity for our children to live, learn and grow without fear of harassment or bullying.