School-based crime prevention programs can be enormously effective and I'll
give you a few reasons why that is the case. It was a dangerous cliff as they
freely confessed. Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant. But over it's
terrible edge there had slipped at Duke and full many of peasant. So, the people
said, "Something would have to be done." But their projects did not at all tally. Some
said build a fence at the top of that cliff. Some, an ambulance down in the
valley. This is the beginning of a poem that was written over 100 years
ago about prevention and how effective it is to prevent people from falling off
of the cliff instead of just having an ambulance down in the valley. I'll share
the rest of the poem with you at the end of the video. This video incidentally is
sponsored by Nova principles foundation. I'm a member of the board of directors
for Nova principles. And to understand where I'm coming from with this, let me
share with you some of the history around this particular program. About 15
years ago, the community where I live was using a school-based prevention program
that focused primarily on substance abuse. Drugs, alcohol, substances that can
get kids into trouble or caused risk for other risky behaviors. And it didn't meet
the needs of our community very well. So, one of the police officers who was
teaching this program in the schools was asked by the chief of police to develop
a new program or to find a new program. He tried looking and he couldn't find
one that met all of the criteria that the chief was looking for. And so he was
tasked with developing this program. He and I had an association through another
assignment where we had worked together on a couple of different projects. And so,
he approached me to help with the curriculum.
The Nova principals program was developed to address the needs of the
kids in our community at a much higher level and in a much more comprehensive
way. We understood from my experience in psychology that kids will make good
decisions if they have the right principles installed in their thinking. A
colleague of mine once said, "Every problem that we face is a problem with
thinking." And I think this is true of risky behaviors that kids face. Risky
behaviors like substance abuse or crime or delinquency or uncover nobility. The
things that we're trying to prevent could be best prevented if they were
doing a different kind of thinking. Now, a quick word about principle. Principles
are natural laws like gravity. You never get up in the morning and think, "I wonder
if gravity's on today." It is. Principles like gravity don't depend on our
believing in them in order to be true or consistent. And I believe that principles
determine all of life's outcomes. I know that's a bold statement but just see if
that might be true according to your own filters of truth. Principles determine
all of life's outcomes so the curriculum that we developed for a school-based
crime prevention program has to do with principles around how kids and other
human beings on the planet make their decisions. Here's an example: Study the
situation. This is one of the principles that is used in this particular program.
Study the situation means you look at the situation, you gather the data and
the information. You do some thinking about that and then you make your
decision based on the outcome of studying this situation. What if a child
has an opportunity for example to commit a crime with a group of peers? Alright,
the opportunity presents itself. That child now gets to study the situation
think through another Nova principle which is cause and effect. Every choice
has a consequence. The better my choices, the better my consequences. So, instead of
simply telling kids, "Hey don't do drugs. Just say no." Which was effective to an
extent. But it left a lot of things lacking. Instead of just saying, "Don't do
drugs", we're saying, "Hey, study the situation. Think it through. What is the
cause-and-effect relationship here?" And then we also apply a moral development
model. So, I share that with you so that you'll have a little bit of context
around what's effective. And we have research and clinical experience that
supports the effectiveness of a principal-based school-centered
prevention program for all kinds of risky behaviors including crime. Now, you
might be thinking at this point, "Okay, Dr. Paul, that sounds all well and good." We've
got the support for this program as an effective way to combat the risky
behaviors that our kids are facing. You might be thinking, "Okay. Well, how do I get
involved in that? What is it that I can do?" If you want to explore the
possibility of bringing the Nova principles program into your school or
community, you can contact Nova through Novaprincipals.com.
There's a contact button there. It'll link you right into the staff of Nova
principles foundatio. who can talk to you answer your questions about how
that's brought in to your community. We typically do this through training
police officers to teach the curriculum in the schools.
So typically, we need the cooperation of both the school and the police
department for this to work really effectively. Sometimes, we don't have
everybody fully on board and there's still some ways to implement that. So,
contact Nova principles directly. Let them know that you saw this video and
that I sent you their direction and there's some great people who work with
us there at Nova who can answer those
questions and help you to figure out how to bring this into your community. You
can also go to the website Nova principles.com and make a donation.
Nova principles foundation is a non-profit entity that is committed to
creating prevention programs for these kids. And the poem probably says it best.
--It was a dangerous cliff as they freely confessed. Though to walk near its crest
was so pleasant. But over it's terrible edge there it slip to do can fill many a
peasant. So, the people said something would have to be done but their projects
did not have all tally. Some said put a fence at the top of the cliff. Some an
ambulance down in the valley. But the cry for the ambulance carried the day. For it
spread through the neighboring city. A fence may be useful or not it is true
but each heart became full of pity for those who slipped over the dangerous
cliff. And the dwellers in highway and alley gave pounds and gave pence. Not to
put up a fence but an ambulance down in the valley. "For the cliff is alright if
you're careful", they said. And if folks even slip and are dropping, it isn't the
slipping that hurts them so much as the shock down below when they're stopping.
So day after day is these mishaps occurred. Quick forth with those rescuers
Sally to pick up the victims who fell off the cliff with their ambulance down
in the valley. Then an old sage remarked "It's a marvel
to me that people give far more attention to repairing results than to
stopping the cause. When they'd much better aim a prevention. Let us stop at
its source all this nonsense", cried he. "Come neighbors and friends. Let us rally.
If the cliff we will fence, we might almost dispense with the ambulance down
in the valley." "Ah, he's a fanatic, the others rejoined. Dispensed with the
ambulance? Never! He'd dispensed with all charities too if he could." "No. No. We'll
support them forever. Are we picking up folks just as fast as they fall? And
would this man dictate to us? Will he?" "Why would people of since stop to put up
a fence while, the ambulance works in the valley?" But the sensible few who are
practical too will not bear with such nonsense much longer. They know that
prevention is better than cure and their party will soon be the stronger.
Encourage them then with your purse, voice and pen. And while other philanthropist dally,
they will score in all pretence and put up a stout fence around that cliff that
hangs over the valley. Better guide well the young then reclaim them when old for
the voice of true wisdom is calling. To rescue the Fallen is good but it's best
to prevent other people from falling. Better close up the source of temptation
and crime then deliver from dungeon or galley. Better put a strong fence at the
top of the cliff than an ambulance down in the valley. A big thank you to Nova
principles Foundation for sponsoring this episode of Live On Purpose TV.
Please support Nova principles by visiting Novaprincipals.com where
you can make a donation or you can connect with Nova principals personnel
who will help you to figure out how to get this powerful program into your
school or community.