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May 05, 2005
Tattling for Profit: Student Crime Stoppers
The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Students know more about what other kids are up to than teachers and school administrators, and students' willingness to come forward when criminal activity is afoot is an important part of keeping schools safe.
But just because the information is valuable, that doesn't mean it's a good idea to pay for it, as many schools across the country are doing. As many as 2,000 schools and colleges have set up Student Crime Stoppers programs, which offer cash, prizes and parking places in exchange for information about students who break rules or commit crimes.
Paying for tips is an effective tool for police, and such hotlines are a legitimate approach to fighting crime in the community. But in a school setting, paying informants could cause as many problems as it solves.
Students who tattle for profit -- or who are suspected of doing so -- could very well be targeted for revenge. Others might falsely implicate classmates in the hope of gain. A toxic atmosphere of paranoia, rather than a safer campus, could be the end result.
Students are naturally reluctant to tell on each other. Nobody likes a snitch, and overcoming that reluctance is a challenge for schools. But the notion that students are best motivated by the prospect of a material reward is a terribly cynical view. It may result in some tips, but it won't teach young people anything about right and wrong or the responsibilities of citizenship.
The reward system works on the principle that greed will trump loyalty. A better approach, though, would be to help young people understand that loyalty is misplaced when it allows someone to hurt themselves or others.
Schools need to help students understand that they have a vital stake in creating a safe, crime-free school and community. Surely there are better ways to do that than paying them off.
Posted by lois at May 5, 2005 04:55 PM