School safety, security, and violence prevention resource

I am pretty sure that that question cannot be answered by a simple yes or no – at least not if you are the type who considers all the important factors. But I suppose that children who know self-defense and are taught how to handle various situations are safer than those who are not as equipped.

In the United Kingdom, a program is being launched which will teach children as young as 7 years old how to defend themselves. The Times Online has the story:

Children as young as 7 are to be taught self-defence in schools to help them to cope with muggings, as the authorities battle rising crime rates against the young.

A national standard safety initiative is also being implemented for the first time to counter the targeting of vulnerable young people for possessions such as mobile phones and iPods, The Times has learnt.

Police and education sources said that street crime was one of the most serious issues facing young people because their generation was the first to carry around expensive technology.

Concerns about attacks on pupils have prompted the Metropolitan Police to focus patrols on the three hours after schools shut. Transport for London is considering aligning its bus timetables with school closures to avoid students being targeted while they are waiting for buses and trains.

Dubbed the Safety Box scheme, I see the program as being a reactive measure to the situation. While street crime is indeed a big threat to school children, perhaps there are also other things that we should look at? Take note, for example, that mobile phones and iPods have been mentioned. What if the children were not allowed to bring such gadgets to school? Or maybe, what if they do not take them out while on the streets? I know that these suggestions are NOT solutions per se, but they might help.

More so, perhaps we should look at the crime rate itself. Perhaps people bigger than school officers should do something about this ever present problem. It may seem that we can only react to the social problems that abound, but this need not be the case. If we address the root of the problem, like eradicating muggings and other petty crime, then perhaps we do not have to teach children how to defend themselves!

Then again, that is not so easy as it may sound. In the meantime, I would not be averse to teaching my young kids (if I had any) how to defend themselves should the need arise. How about you?

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