Youth Patrols

What are youth patrols?

Youth patrolling is the second of the nine basic Youth Crime Watch components.

The concept is simple: Young people work together in a formal structure, with help from adults, to patrol the campus of the school in pairs or small groups, acting nonconfrontationally to help maintain order, enforce rules, and report crime or crime-threatening situations. They are not tasked to apprehend criminals. They may serve as mediators with proper training. The patrol members may help with prevention education for students and staff.

Enlisting young people as active partners in building a safer school increases their commitment to prevention, provides additional help in spotting trouble or possible trouble, and reduces fear and crime. That's why many schools have sponsored student patrols.

General rules and regulations of a student patrol:

• Students will be supervised by an adult advisor
• Students will not intervene in any crime, they will simply report it
• Students will be trained to report serious violations to an adult leader privately
• Students will receive quality training in how to respond to situations

Many patrols in high schools assist with security at school events. Many take their names from the school's mascot -- Team Mako, the Spartan Patrol, the Cub Patrol -- which builds school spirit.

Six ways that youth patrols make schools safer

1. Youth - both in and out of the patrol - take greater ownership of the school community because they see adults as willing to share the responsibility with them.
2. Peers can be more effective than adults in working with other youth, especially with proper training.
3. Patrol members help set standards and expectations for peers' behavior.
4. Having additional trained observers - the patrol members - noting and reporting not just specific crimes or rules violations but problems that could lead to crime increases the safety of all in the school.
5. An active, successful patrol encourages other students to report crimes or crimes-in-the-making.
6. A well-structured patrol, one that involves a wide cross-section of the student body, builds a sense of unity and community among students.

Related materials

Youth Patrol Manual $14.95

Safer Schools Because of Youth video $25.00 / CD $20.00

Do youth patrols work?

Youth Crime Watch schools at all levels - elementary, middle, and secondary - started patrols because they saw the need and sustained them because they saw results. Patrols have stopped unauthorized visitors, including those with criminal intent, from coming onto school property. They've alerted authorities to impending fights that were nipped in the bud. Their presence reduces fighting, horseplay, vandalism, and parental worries.